Slice of Life
by Starla Q
Summary: A simple party was how it started, then turned into so much more. It triggered a chain of events that skewed how the world looked, to them at least. How was life without the gundams? Can they deal with the invasions of privacy? How hard is it to define your own 'identity' and 'sexuality? ...how to get away from it all? Highschool setting. Mature content. alcohol/drugs/sex/squick
1. Chapter 1: A Shot

Since I got a new room mate, she's gotten me interested in Gundam Wing again. Watching it as an adult is strange. It's so dry. DX

I usually like to write about what I didn't see in the show, and this time it's 'slice of life' and 'comedy'.

This story was originally a 'one shot', but it has gone above and beyond that. I want to share some of the hilarity I experienced moving into adulthood, through the gundam guys. :) Hope you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 1 - A Shot**

* * *

How easy was it for a semi-casual gathering to turn into a full blown nightmare? Effortless. It was intended to be a refreshing change for Heero to decidedly attend a function held by the Peacecraft family; of all the times he could have chosen to be social around her, he ended up picking that night. It was because many of the current highlights in politics were going to be there, it seemed like a harmless get-together.

Heero felt his current schooling was repetitive and he desired to be put in an advanced class setting. If he were to smooth talk the right big wigs, he may receive sponsorship for the transfer, possibly even a reference to add to his portfolio. It would only serve to speed the transfer process, but that's all he needed.

Remaining on his toes was a must, Relena was trying to keep tabs on him since the night began. The girl's infatuation with him knew no bounds. "She planned it to be like this," Heero said as he eyed the dance floor for her spys. "She knew I was looking to talk to these people, now, here they all are."

"Why do you have to be such a stick in the mud," Duo commented, his arms slung carelessly behind his head. It was only a couple hours into the suit occasion and the fibers of his coat needed stretching. "You're being paranoid; how could she have known you wanted to take an advanced class? It's a coincidence."

He huffed, "I've been talking about it with the school's chief of staff for the last couple weeks; it must have gotten brought up at one of their meetings." He was on a list 'somewhere' in the transfer section and he assumed Relena must have seen it; she was always deeply involved with school issues. "Damn...I have to stay, I want this," he said with scorn for the mingling he had to do. Whether or not the party was set up to corner him especially, it was still an opportunity.

"At least at the end of the night, you'll be able to get out of the rat race," Duo snarked because that's what school life felt like to him. Advanced classes meant placement jobs with little to no class time; if only he had the money, he'd go along with Heero's move. "Sitting in a stuffy room and listening to a fossil preach, it doesn't seem to be your bag."

"And this is supposed to be better?" Making small talk with pompous fat cats wasn't much his 'bag' either.

"It's quicker," Duo smiled.

"Small blessings, I guess," he responded. This was the perfect setting for Relena to slip her two cents in as she pleased, he hated it. Sure enough, when Heero began talking to a man in a sharp looking white suit, she showed up. "I'll get us some drinks," was the line she said before trotting off only seconds later.

Before anyone could tell her not to bother, "Don't worry," the suit said, "I won't tell anyone if you have any, you've earned it. Besides, I'd be honored to share a drink with the famous pilot of Wing Zero."

"Sure," he said with a resentful, uncertain, flattery.

"You shouldn't turn down an offer from Ms. Peacecraft; you know, she has plenty of connections you could benefit from. Her word _is_ pretty powerful." His best efforts to convince Heero otherwise fell short of succeeding.

This guy must have seen Relena's interest in him; her body language was rather obvious, as she always made it. Heero was aware she could act as a reference, it would have looked good on any job application, but he couldn't bare to put up with constantly being followed. He also found it ridiculous that everyone fawned over her so much, it got under his skin.

The girl returned with their drinks and he took his first of many sips. '_Not bad_,' Heero thought as the orange-golden liquid washed down his throat. The drink had two layers of color; it began as bright orange on top, that eventually bled into a deep, syrup red at the bottom.

A a heated conversation with the man in white ensued. Heero was sure to get him to agree to sign off as a reference on his school application before departing from the small group. He fled to report this victory to Duo, who was found loving the scenery. "What are you doing?" Heero asked as he watched him prop up his bored head. He had a feeling that his good news was going to go unheard, Duo looked like he had his eye on someone.

"I want to try and pick one of them up," he said and drew attention to a girl in a form fitting dress, "But it's hard because I don't know anybody here. How can I tell which one's got a guy? I tried to see if _she_ met up with anyone...but it's so cluttered at that table," he said and eyed the curves the girl sported. She'd be the perfect distraction if she weren't attached to anyone.

Heero shook his head; was this guy's radar always on? "Ask Relena; she knows everyone here," he said, not thinking it would interest Duo so much, but it made him stand up from his chair.

"Not a bad idea," he started on his search for Relena. Duo caught what Heero had in his hand, from the corner of his eye, a split second before it went totally unseen. "A drink," he said and turned around completely, "How'd you get that?"

He pointed a finger in Relena's direction, "Same person," he said and watched Duo continue on his merry way. Heero took up a seat at the table and started scanning the room for his next target. He was looking for a woman who had been on the board since it was established thirty years ago, so he could wax nostalgic with the crazy old bitty.

Meanwhile, Duo was weaving through a detached crowd. They all seemed to be in circles composed of a half dozen people or more, speaking passionately about their topic of choice. The whole point of the party was to gain recognition and bump elbows with people normally not within arms reach; there was no time for jokes and idle chit chat. For them.

He finally isolated the blond ambassador to get cheat notes on the 'younger less noteworthy' people on the guest list. "I have a quick question for you," he began.

"Oh, Duo. You're just the person I wanted to see. How's Heero?" she said abruptly.

This caught him off guard. "...h-he's doing good." Duo then got a devious smile on his face, "You know, I never really noticed how strongly you felt toward him. What's the deal?" He was trying to play matchmaker for her, hoping she'd maybe do the same for him.

"I've been trying to talk to him all night, but he's a hard person to get across to." She wrung her hands nervously, "I was hoping he'd have a few drinks to...loosen up... and enjoy himself," she said.

Duo held up a hand, "I had a feeling this would happen," he said and reached into his pocket, emerging with a small syringe. It had two cc's of red liquid inside, compliments of Trowa and the traveling circus folk. "This is one hundred-ten proof alcohol; I can put it in his drink," he said and quickly ignited Relena's anxiety.

"No-I...well..." she battled it back and forth in her head.

With a shrug, "You didn't sound too sure of that 'no'. Want him to talk, or not?" Duo said convincingly(connivingly).

"Yes," she blurted, possibly a result of the wine she herself had earlier.

"Can do," he took the plastic device and loaded it in his coat sleeve for easy access. "As for payment: Mind telling me which one of your friends is single? I'm looking for a nice girl; someone who's fun, sense of humor, you know," he straightened his collar. She agreed to tell him if he got the alcohol in Heero's cup. "What does she take me for? Sheesh."

Now that he would be receiving something in return, Duo was more than willing to do some underhanded bidding on Relena's behalf. Not that getting Heero drunk was any real crime, he contemplated how he would do it many times before. The goal was to loosen him up so he would talk, hence the small amount needed. The guy was too serious for his own good, he felt this was something they needed.

Before Duo got too close to his target, he made sure Heero wasn't talking to anyone, lest they see his drink become tainted with the 'spike'. "Hey buddy," he said and bumped into him, "Sorry 'bout that." This shook the ice in his glass, effectively masking the sound of the splash made by the syringe emptying. Duo disposed of the tool in a nearby plant and sat down.

"Good, you're back. I got the referrals I needed, and a few extra. I'm going to head out," Heero finished his drink in one long swig. "The bottom was strong," he cringed, figuring the syrup would have had more of a sweet edge to it. He glared at it in confusion.

Duo panicked, "You don't have to go so soon! Come on, I got the run down on that girl I pointed out. Be my wing man." He didn't know if the drink was too strong to handle in one gulp, so he didn't want to let Heero go so soon. Would he be okay?

"Wing man? You'll be fine," he completely dismissed the idea.

"You have a girl chasing you and couldn't be more bothered with her; can't you help your buddy out?" Duo tried to butter him up, "I stutter when the girls are too pretty," lies, "And there's so many of them. You can't leave me hanging, I'm helpless on my own!" He began to push his friend into submission and it seemed to be working. To the dismay of Duo, Heero managed to break away from capture when a few people wearing similar, official-looking suits stopped him to talk.

Duo tapped an impatient finger against his elbow, waiting for them to finish. A ruthless tug pulled him around a pillar, one of the many throughout the hall. "The hell?" he exclaimed.

"Where's his drink?" Relena asked, sounding flustered.

"He downed it! I thought he would keep sipping the thing!"

She covered her mouth, "Duo, what if he passes out?" Relena knew it would ruin his reputation to be so drunk, especially after getting such boisterous reviews.

"I don't know. I measured it factoring in how much he _wouldn't_ drink from the glass." Duo meant, he assumed Heero wouldn't finish all the way to the bottom of his drink. It was the status quo for the bourgeois at the time.

"Well...didn't you have a back up plan?" she tried to formulate an 'abort' for their current snag. Heero really dropped the bomb on them with this.

"A guy like him doesn't usually need a back up plan. He's predictable," at lest predictable in the sense that Duo had gotten used to. "We should move him around, maybe he'll burn some of it off," he suggested.

"I could ask him to escort me to my car." She thought about how to make the request seem more genuine.

"Couldn't we get him to walk around here?" Duo said and watched Heero crack wise with the newly found group. Thus far, he was doing alright.

Relena shook her head, "I think it would still be too obvious, eventually." They didn't know if level of impairment he was going to endure was going to be easily hidden. "I have to find an excuse." After giving it some thought she walked right up to him and took his arm lightly. "Heero? Pardon the intrusion, but I have some things in my car out back that I need help to take it in. Could you give me a hand?" Again, her antics were received well by others, not by the one it was intended for. "Please?" she asked so sweetly that one of the others egged Heero on. The other few looked jealous that Relena wasn't accosting them for help.

"I'll help," he said and parted from the fancy suits. He hooked his thumb in the direction of the exit, "I got a ride with Mr. Fisher," his current sociology teacher, "Let's hurry. I want to get back before he leaves." His teacher was coping out early, and agreed to give him a ride home in a few minutes.

"You don't need to worry about that," Relena began, "Phil lives in the opposite direction that you're going, I'll take you home instead. You should stay a while anyway, it'll look good on you," she said with a little laughter in her voice. "Could one of you make sure to tell Mr. Fisher I've commandeered Heero?" She tugged his arm, "This way," and pulled him out of the room entirely.

Duo felt abandoned and leaned out the double doors to yell, "What about me? I'm still here!" She hadn't told him where her single friends were yet, he was kind of annoyed.

Relena paused, reached into her pocket and emerged with a small cluster of orange tickets. She walked over to Duo's upper half sticking out the door and handed him the bundle. "One drink per ticket, go easy, I'll be back," she said and continued to take Heero to a quieter location.

Luckily for her, within the same compound, there were private meeting rooms available for smaller gatherings. She began searching each room for an exit that would likely never happen. "It's in one of these."

"We could walk _around_ the building to get to your car," he suggested.

"There's an emergency exit in one of these rooms. It leads right to the parking lot, I'm sure," she said and continued the fallacious hunt. This went on for several more minutes until Relena peered into a room that had a billiard table, balls racked and ready to go. "What's this?" It couldn't have been a more perfect distraction. "I haven't played this in a long time. Have a game with me before we head out?" Relena was stalling for time to let the booze soak in, '_This could work_,' she thought and wished she could thank whoever set up the table.

Heero had intentionally downed his drink so he could leave sooner, this was a step in the wrong direction. "I'm not interested," he declined and looked down the hall, hoping to see a sign lit up with the word 'exit'. "I-" he was cut off with the sound of a loud crack.

Relena was already breaking the pool balls. They scattered and one of the striped balls sunk. "I only need to get ice, it can wait. Play one game with me," she said and held out the pool stick, "You're 'solid'," she said with a smirk.

He obliged, feeling the effects of his first few mouthfuls of alcohol. Or was it possibly the flattery she fed him? His body felt light and kind of warm too. Heero loosened his tie and released the first button on his shirt to gain some mobility. "One game, then we walk _around_ the building," he said. Pulling the tie over his head, he discarded it on a nearby chair.

They carefully played each of their turns like a pro, apparently Relena wasn't the only fan of the game. "Last shot," she said. There was only a stripe and eight ball left over. She sunk the final stripe. "Now for the win," she smiled, "Do you want to make this interesting?"

He was feeling more tipsy than before, and there was no stopping the words, "Why not?" from escaping his loosened lips. He immediately noted his own behavior shifting, '_Shouldn't have drank that so quick_,' he thought, oblivious to extra surprise dropped in his glass.

"I say..." she thought for a moment, "If you win, you can go back in with everyone and _I'll_ get the ice. If I win, I get a kiss," she said with an enchanting smile.

* * *

I think it cleaned up nicely. ;)


	2. Chapter 2: Brush with Potential

The story really takes on a transgressive edge after a while; yes, I learned a new word and I'm all over it. I didn't know there was a word for this kind of story, but that's what it is. I was rather pleased to discover it.

I always thought 'transgressive' was a type of sneaker, so I didn't pay it much mind until now.

As I proofread this, I'm doing more research on 'transgressive'. It's taking longer than expected, but I'm getting it done.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Brush with Potential**

* * *

A single kiss was the prize she wanted for winning? This amused him. "What is your fascination with me?" he asked, leaning his chin on his hands, balancing them on his cue. He was becoming 'chatty'. "No matter if I push you away, you always come back. Why is that?"

Relena decided to keep it simple, "You've saved my life on more than one occasion, I owe you so much." She leaned down and tried to play her turn after that touching sentiment. There was some interference.

"You're gonna miss," he taunted, "...not going to work," he leaned over her as she aimed at the ball. He saw her tense up, "...you tense?" he snickered lightly. "No...not...going...in..." He balanced against the side of the table, arched over her, forcing her to aim from within the empty spaces around his body.

Relena took her shot and they held their breath. The ivory ball slinked across the velvet table and missed the eight ball by a hair. "I suppose you get this win," she said with slight disappointment. The defiant eight ball would be sunk by Heero on his next turn. She wouldn't be getting her kiss after all.

"I might miss, you never know," Heero said and took his shot. It aimlessly knocked off the sides of the playing area and stopped without hitting a thing. "I'm not such a good shot. I guess that drink is getting the better of me, I guess," he laughed, "Said it twice," and trailed off.

She looked at her opponent curiously. Was he flirting with her or did he really mess up the shot? "Fine," she stood next to him and aimed carefully, in silence this time. It hit the eight ball and the thing did a 'jig' by rattling off the sides of the corner pocket instead of going in. "That's not fair," she called 'physics' on its nonsense.

With a slight of hand Heero knocked the dark ball in the pocket and shrugged, "I didn't see you miss," he said.

She looked up, her cue stick still in hand, "Then, I win?"

He watched her take a step forward and lay said stick down. "Looks like it." He allowed the intrusion, a first for him.

"How come you aren't pushing me away now?" her face drew closer to its target, drunk or not, there was no backing out on this.

"I'll keep my word, I had a bet to uphold. You won fair n'square," finally closing the gap he got a hold of Relena's soft lips, a slight peck starting them off. He followed this up by gently taking hold of her bottom lip. He could hear her mummer at his touch and it drove him crazy. '_Why am I doing this? ...I've been drinking, right...and still, I go on...why exactly am I doing this?'_ His thoughts kept running around in a circle, so he gave up on making sense of anything and continued.

Relena leaned on the pool table, causing her leg to lift off the floor slightly. Her thigh was scooped up and used to hoist her onto the edge of the velor playing surface. Their kiss did not break. She tried to get her mind to slow down, momentarily taking the time to say, "This feels so good," and went right back to kissing; her attempt to stop the roller coaster was ineffective. Initially she only wanted to get him talking, this was unexpected, yet so welcomed. She could feel his hands find their way to the back hem of her shirt and disappear beneath.

"No bra, huh? Are you always this naughty?" he said and encircled one hand to the front, the other supported him on the table. With gentle pressure over her breast, she succumbed to his touch. He backed up to get a good look at her face. "Huh?"

"Don't say it like that!" She blushed, "This shirt is baggy and it's warm. I...went without," she said and lost her partner in kissing. He hadn't gone far, he had leaned down to lay kisses along the exposed part of her chest.

"It gives the impression you were planning on getting some. I bet you didn't think I'd be drunk. Then again, you did ge'mmy that drink," he rambled and picked up where he left off. His kisses and a hooked index finger began to take the front of her shirt down a few inches, his mouth hungry for more of her softness.

Relena felt a pang of guilt then. He wouldn't have done any of this if not for the spike Duo put in the drink _she_ gave him. She picked his chin up to meet her face once again, sealing it with a kiss. She knew this behaviour wasn't genuine, it was wrong. "Heero, we should get you home before you can't walk." She swallowed hard, "You should have known better than to down your drink." She tried to make it sound like she was scolding him. "I did enjoy my prize though. Thank you." Relena tugged her tube top back up all the way, fixing it's lacy ruffles.

He nodded, "True...will I remember this?" he asked, his eyes beginning to feel heavier. Heero rested his forehead on her shoulder.

"Probably not," she said with regret and pat his back.

"Sorry," he said and began to remove himself from her personal space, giving her a peck on the cheek first.

This action dumbfounded her. "No worries." When she saw her friends with the boys from school, they weren't so easy to make listen in an altered state. But he did, right away no less. Heero was really great like that, so much more mature for someone his age, Relena wished their time wasn't over. "We do this again next weekend," she asked, hoping to spend some time with a sober Heero. "I mean-spend time with you, not necessairly...like this."

"Honestly...I'll say I'll go...but then I won't." He had better things to do than brown nose with more snooty guests, he assumed that's what she would be taking him to anyway.

"If I promised to buy you drinks, would you?" she joked, pretending to bribe him.

He scoffed, "Maybe." He turned and headed for the door, a noteworthy swagger in his step.

Giving up on the fake chore of getting more ice, they returned to the main hall where Duo was found. Quatre sat with him at a table, a couple empty glasses littered the surface. "Hey, hey! Welcome back!" Duo was acting pretty friendly.

Heero kept it together as he observed his inebriated co-workers, they acted so differently; except for Duo, his personality was only amplified. Quatre was calm and sleepy, Trowa was the center of conversation, while Wufei was hitting up a black jack table and placing bets.

Relena made some of the same observations on the gundam pilots, except she got to point her judgment toward Heero as well. Much like the others, his personality flipped. His once stoic demeanor cracked and gave way to more basic urges; it was as though the alcohol removed his filter, the one he worked so hard at maintaining one-hundred percent of the time. She then pondered how it would effect her. It could possibly turn her violent, so she decided against drinking any more that night. She wanted to make sure he got home safely.

"Relena," Duo said and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "My wing man looks like he's fading fast, you can help me out, right?" He got closer, smelling faintly of whiskey and wine, "You owe me."

She removed the arm from around her shoulders. "I don't think so," she said, disturbed that he was implying they hook up.

He took a step back, "Not like that, geez." It would be a cold day in hell before he even thought about stepping on Heero's toes. "I wanted to know if _you_ could be my wing man-well-wing woman."

Eyebrow cocked, "I'll try my best," she said in a drained voice, one that sounded like she understood she owed him.

"You know, you don't have to make it sound like it's going to be hard," he puffed his cheeks and spoke, as he now felt kind of insulted.

Relena examined Heero who was staring off into space in the direction the band was playing. "I have to take him home, let's be quick about this," she said and began taking Duo around the room looking for the girl he had his eye on before.

A few minutes of hunting helped them find her by a large running fountain. It was going well until her date came up and planted a kiss on her cheek, "Are we talking turkey, or talking politics," the second girl said.

"Isn't it all the same?" the first one responded, everyone laughed.

Relena sighed as she saw the defeat in Duo's face. She had forgotten these two were actually hooking up and not just friends anymore. Quickly diverting the conversation subject to another point of interest, she and Duo managed to make a graceful 'out' for themselves.

"This is what I get for making my search so narrow. I mean, a _rack_ isn't everything, right?" he said to Relena who gave him an annoyed look, "Not that...you'd know...sorry. Next?"

She sighed, "Fine, you have two more strikes."

He smiled saying, "Three strikes, like baseball? Great! I used to play it as a kid. This'll be a breeze," and began scanning the room for another potential partner, carelessly pivoting from heel to heel.

"Make it quick, he's slipping," Relena pointed out that Heero's head was beginning to wobble. It even attracted the attention of Quatre sitting nearby; he had to grab Heero before he fell out of his seat. She saw Heero shake his head and speak; the expression on Quatre's face looked as though he heard something incoherent.

"How about..." he rotated as he pondered, dazed from the couple drinks he had in Relena's absence. The party had been going on for hours and still no potential dates turned up. Duo had been too busy making his rounds to pick up any girls. It worked out in his favour though, one of the accountants ended up writing him a cheque after remembering him in an audit she did. He had been in a 'good mood binge' ever since. "In this direction," he announced when finally deciding on a direction.

Relena looked in the designated direction to see, "Married, married, engaged, married and a man," she said knowingly.

Duo blushed, "A man?" He looked closer. The prettiest one there was actually a man in drag. "I meant _this_ way." He pointed over the back of his own head.

Relena looked behind him, "That's Heero and Quatre," she said.

Again, face red, he picked another direction, "There," he said, pointing blindly, eyes squinted shut.

She ignored the suggestion and finally saw someone she could pawn Duo off on for a time, the bartender. She was new, young, pretty and a good talker(boobs). Relena had been admiring her work ethic from the dance floor and noticed her ability to multitask. It was perfect, "How about Missy? She's been bar-tending for a week now and she's really nice. I bet you could get a dance with her when she's off," she said and checked her watch, it was nearly nine, "She's done in an hour." With that under his belt, he was off to swoon the new lady at the counter. "Good." Now that Duo was paid off, she went back to her focus of the evening, Heero.

Instead of getting him to walk to the back of the building, Relena took her car around front to retrieve the downed pilot. They had taken nearly an hour to get Duo situated with a suitable 'potential' and she needed to get Heero out of there before it became too obvious something was up. Quatre was nice enough to help them to the car.

"I don't need help," Heero muttered, having _already_ been led down the stairs by two people and propped in the front seat of a car.

"Do you think I could get a ride home later on?" Quatre asked as he shut the door for Heero.

"When," she said from the other side of the car.

He raised a hand, "No rush. I kind of want to make sure Duo's alright. I have no clue how he got all those tickets," for buying drinks. He had seen the bartender, Missy, mix and hand him a large cocktail before they took Heero out. He needed to go back in, because the way he saw it: If he didn't stop Duo, no one would. Quatre instantly imagined the worst.

He wasn't one for drinking, so much that he only had a single glass of wine, from dinner earlier, most of the night; and a beer, that Duo insisted he try. It was a simple reason he hadn't had any more, he couldn't get past the taste of it.

She hid her guilty expression, for she was the giver of the tickets, "Sounds good, see you when I get back," she said and left with the dead weight in her front seat.

Relena couldn't help but snicker at Heero succumbing to inertia. As the car turned, he would sway ever so slightly in the opposite direction; it was best when braking, quickly. On their way back to the dorm he nearly fell asleep, she had to generate small talk(or pump the air break) just to keep him around.

When they got to his dorm room door, he made an attempt to use the key. "Damn...keys," he fumbled with them as if he were wearing oven mitts. "Here, I can't see them...s'too dark..." Classic line; the hallway was well lit. His shoulder rested against the door, giving him support as he awaited the keys to fall into more capable hands.

When Relena undid the lock, it led to more chaos. Heero unintentionally, and forcefully, opened the door with his weight against it. He nearly fell face first into the room. Luckily he caught himself in the nic of time. His reflexes were cat-like even at the worst of times.

Relena was relieved, she wasn't looking to explain any rug burn on his face. She felt for the switch on the wall and flicked it on. "Can you see now?"

Everything was rotating. Heero squinted, "Not really," he said. He had a bad case of the 'spins'.

"Lay down, you'll be better in the morning," she said as she guided him to his bed. They sat down together, his arm over her shoulder.

"Stay?" Heero asked quietly and his mouth gravitated to her neck. He held on with gentle suction. It was enough to stop her in her tracks, and hard enough that it left the remnants of marking on her skin.

'_Should I_?' she asked herself.

* * *

Ooh, steamy. :}


	3. Chapter 3: Bail

Touched up to mirror shine. ^^

* * *

**Chapter 3: Bail **

* * *

She was rather taken with Heero's action, it felt amazing. "I don't think that would be...well, not for long." She was too mesmerized and gave in to the connection. It was harmless as long as this was all he wanted. Every now and then he would make perfect circles with that tongue of his. "Heero..."

"Yea~" he laughed a bit, "Let me see those lips again." He tilted her face up into his embrace and leaned them back on his bed. Their bodies laid side by side, legs mingling atop the sheets. He was beginning to get aroused and his body began to ache for her. His thoughts were few, and there was no background voice saying 'stop'. Heero's hands blindly reached for his belt and he struggled with the buckle.

She could feel his actions beneath her. He was less lucid than before and still wanted to be engaged physically, that was a big problem. "If you can't undo the buckle, it means we should stop," she said with an understanding tone. It was a perfect excuse not to do anything with him while he was this drunk. If he were _tipsy_ it might have been okay to go a little further, but not like this.

"Yeah. Thanks'f~yea..." he sounded like he was fading fast. Before he could get across a full 'thank you for the drive', Heero was out like a light.

"...are you still with me?" she asked leaning over top of him. Relena was about to feel bad for leaving him high and dry, but it seemed he had passed out before she was even off the bed.

She headed back to the hall, crossing her fingers that Heero would be alright for a few hours on his own. Deciding that checking in on him was a good idea, she set her watch for shortly after midnight. There was a chance he might be sober by then and may even want to return to the party. For now, he rested and she was off again.

Relena has set foot on the wide bending staircase at the main corridoor when she noticed two familiar faces on their way down. Trowa and his date, the lovely Catherine Bloom, were on their way out for a cigarette. He inquired about Heero and then commented on how Duo wasn't looking too good either. "Where is he?" Relena asked.

"He was still at the bar the last I saw." He noticed something as Relena began to turn. "Relean, uh...If you're going to be in and out all night like that, take this. Don't want you catching a cold," he said and draped his scarf around her neck. "Shame you couldn't stay inside, it's warmer." He snickered with Catherine as they continued to walk on by.

Relena assumed the chortling was a result of beeing seen leaving somewhere together, a catalyst for gossip. Not everyone knew Trowa had a sister; it was easy to assume they were dating and not actually blood related. Relena knew otherwise and wasn't one for spreading rumors anyway. There was plenty of gossip she had access to, she just didn't care to thoughtlessly make it public.

The young ambassador watched them step outside and a gentle wind blew past her as the door swung shut. It was refreshing. "I have no idea what he's talking about, the night's beautiful," she was going to knot the scarf, but decided let the dark blue scarf dangle down.

As all of that was happening, Duo was working his magic with the bartender. Or was it the other way around? The big band blasted up on the balcony and the glitter flew on the dance floor; Missy was a part of keeping everyone's glass wet and the counter dry. "Thank you," she said "This helps a lot," and laid another colorful drink in front of her newest admirer.

"Hey, no prob," Duo said and gently mixed the drink back and forth. "What's this one called?"

"Blue Lagoon," she said and was off to mix another drink for someone else.

"Excellent," he commented, unsure if he was able to fit another drink in his gut. The drink was sweet and sour at the same time. Though he enjoyed the taste of it, his capacity was filling fast. He'd spoken with Missy for a few minutes when he first sat down and found out that she still felt stale at mixing certain drinks. He agreed to order a few of them to help her brush up. Three additional cocktails later and he was on a rapid decline.

"Duo?" Quatre asked from behind him. He had been nursing the same drink for the last hour, made obvious by the lack of ice remaining in his glass. He had moved on to something that tasted like anise . It was an offer from a passing official, he didn't feel right turning it down.

"Here, drink this for me," he said and swapped glasses with Quatre. He was fortunate the glasses were the same and the other was nearly empty. He emptied it, "Uuh, fennel seed."

Quatre was in the same boat, "I can't handle these things," he said and tried to drink a mouthful of it. "Actually, this tastes...like candy. What is this?" He took another long sip and stirred it with a straw. He was mesmerized by the taste.

"Blue Lagoon," Duo said quickly.

"Finished?" Missy asked.

Duo stealthily shoved Quatre out of her line of vision, "Down the hatch. How about another?" he rested a dopy head on a wavering wrist. She turned around to grab another mixable liquor, giving Duo enough time to bark orders behind him. "Haalp!" he said, "Wing man?" The second part was said with more desperation, like a plea.

Quatre rolled his eyes and covered part of his face with his free hand, "I'm going to regret this," he said and downed the rest of the blue mix. He hoped he didn't have the same fate as Heero as he laid the empty glass down and out of sight. Taking his seat, he was ready and willing to help with this endeavor.

"Tequila sunrise," she plopped the drink down, "Oh, your friend," she said, "Can I mix one for you too?"

"Sounds good," were the words Quatre said as he handed her a drink voucher, but he secretly meant 'Duo, in this moment, I hate you'. She left to find the right glass. Quatre looked at the cup Duo was emptying, "...Isn't that the same one Heero was drinking? You should be careful," he said and awaited his own cocktail. The fact that Duo had the same drink as Heero, worried him, and the fact it was twice the size of a regular drink, spoke to him.

"It 'tiz, but don't worry, I put extra booze in Heero's glass. That's why he got so eff'ed up," he sounded all proud of himself. "It backfired though, I was kind of hoping he'd stick around. But we got to watch him hobble to the car." He gave a thumbs up.

"**I** had to help him hobble _into_ the car. What if it makes him sick? You're going to be the one stuck with a dry cleaning bill." Quatre said. He found it annoying that Duo wasn't just trying to pour booze down his own throat, but everyone elses as well.

"Pff, dummy shouldn't have slammed his drink," he said as he scoped out the bartender's hindquarters. Normally that wouldn't have been a big deal, but, despite his best efforts, it was all he could see. The barrage of drinks had rendered him 'peripheral-visionless' and more 'tunnle-visionful'.

Missy came back and laid down a three layer drink. Equal sections, different colors in a tall narrow glass. The top was smooth coffee brown, then a chewy blue, ending with a sunny yellow. "It's called a 'Blue eyed Blonde'," she slid it toward Quatre and popped in a stir stick, neon green in color, matching the thin line of green that formed between the bottom two layers. "You are what you drink," she chuckled. After a well deserved compliment on the concoction, Missy puttered off again. The friends were left to their own devices.

"I don't think she's interested," Quatre said, knowing he had to break it to him sooner or later. He took the time to look at the size difference of other people's drinks, and it was dreadfully obvious to him that Missy was serving Duo doubles deliberately; even his own was larger than normal.

"Of course she is," he protested, not wanting to give up just like that. He had been waiting patiently for her to be done with her shift, he'd come this far and wasn't willing to call it quits when he was so close. "She's still on the job, I'm not gonna make her get in trouble 'cause'a me. Wait for the perfect time...patience...it's key..."

"Maybe this 'perfect time' should be tomorrow. When you're sober," he commented on his fellow pilot's alertness, mainly his lack of it.

"I'm sober enough," he denied the accusation.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then why is your head down," he asked with derision, hoping his point would now be obvious.

Duo took note to the posistion of his head: Down on the counter. "...y-you...you may be right. Could you kindly call me a cab, buddy?" He chuckled at his own disposition, to drunk to sit upright and still trying to suck on the wet end of a straw. It kept sliding away from his mouth everytime he tried to readjust his distance. It was nearing the bottom of the cup, he figured he might was well finish it. The red syrup was super sweet. "-also, I'm laying in condensation, can you tuck a napkin under my face, please, Quatre."

He couldn't help but laugh at the poor guy, "How about we get up instead?" he said as he picked Duo up from the stool.

"Peachy, wonderful, good times..." he rambled as he was propped upright on his feet.

The bartender had been giving him doubles the whole time to get him hammered; a sign she wasn't big on talking to him after her shift. If he were too drunk, he couldn't hit on her. Logic. "Ready for more?" Missy asked as though she were speaking to seasoned drinkers. She quickly realized that they were not, as one was carrying the other.

"Sorry, we're calling it quits," Quatre said, "Come on Duo," and began to move away.

"Duo?" she said to herself. A hand covered her mouth as she turned her back to the other patrons, hiding her embarrassment. She hadn't asked him his name when he sat down, only what he wanted to drink; and what she thought was a pony tail from the front, was actually a braid from behind. Missy didn't get the pleasure of knowing who she was speaking with until she had already plastered him to the point of no return. '_He was one of the gundam_ _pilots!_?'Had she but known it was one of them sitting at her bar, his night would have went better. "Oops..." she uttered and went to inform her boss to the mishap. Her words made him chuckle: '_I got Mr. Maxwell smashed...he won't be angry, will he?_' Knowing full well he took pride in being the 'God of Death', she feard for the death of her career. The boss man told her not to worry, Duo was pretty easy going. He'd deal with it if it came up in the future.

They made tracks back to their first table of the night, where Wufei was curretnly counting his winnings. Quatre lowered Duo to a chair. "No more," Duo said, his head now on par with the base of the cups he drank earlier. He hiccuped, "U'm done~hcc." Hiccup again.

His 'sort' was so 'out of sorts' that it even briefly caught Wufei's attention. "No kidding," he said, counting the first half of his winnings. He made a killing that night.

Relena came in from dropping Heero off and saw Duo chatting it up with Quatre at his side. She assumed he was alright for now and that Trowa, like outside, misjudged the situation a bit. Relena continued tending to her other guests. Only a short amount of time passed before she witnessed Quatre drape Duo across his shoulders and carry him across the room. "You've got to be kidding me," she said and approached them. She hastily found out a friend was putting him up for the night and decided he needed to go there as soon as possible. "Let's go," she said.

He was plastered, on and to, the table. "Yeah, yeah." His movements had to be very precise and planned, making it visibly ridged. He stood up and stumbled back a couple steps. Paused to regroup. Regrouped completely and went forward with a bend. The way his body acted was like metal, and the floor and table, and pretty much everything else, magnets. "That last drink is kicking my ass," he complained.

"I'm sure it was the _last_ one that did it," the hoarder added in his piece before they were out of ear shot.

Relena had to practically carry the braided wonder all the way down the stairs on her back. She kept two steps in front of him the whole time to retain her footing. '_Does he have to balance his weight forward like that_?' To her only good fortune of the evening, Duo was significantly lighter to carry than Heero. "Almost there, stay with me," she reminded him to keep moving toward the car when they got to flat ground. She proped him against the side door, "Don't fall," she said and moved swiftly to the other side.

"Wher'id'Heero go'again? Nevermine, he was tay-taken ho-me. I got'cha," he babbled and laid his chin on the roof of the car, eyes closing slowly. He waited for the door to be unlocked. When he heard a click, his handle went up, the door opened and he sat down with no trouble. "Swish," he was proud he didn't clock himself in the head. The only reason it worked so well was because it was all one fluid motion, it was unlikely that it would happen twice in one evening.

When Relena sat next to him, before the light in the cab died down, he noticed something peculiar. It stuck out from beyond Relena's scarf. "Hey~yo, here, cm'here, c'mer," he said as he was reaching out to her. He leaned over and got much closer than he needed to be. "This'siz'twisted'ina'hrr," he said it like that because the whole thought was one word for the time being. He fixed the scarf that had apparently 'twisted itself in her hair'.

"Thank you," she said and began the ride home, irked. How had he manage to get so smashed? She wasn't even gone that long. The tickets were then recalled. All those tickets. Who knew how many he had while she was playing pool and driving Heero home.

Duo laid mostly silent, only responding with an "Mmm-hmm," now and then. He breathed in deep to say, "Tonight was a bust. First one wasn't into dudes. Second one _was_ a dude. The bartendr'tried to poison me...stupid everything..." He threw his hands in the air and laid his head back after the outburst.

Relena tried to comfort him by reminding him there would be many other tall, busty bartenders to hit on in the future, but heard no response. She was going to have to start applying the break if he passed out. "Duo...let me know you're still awake." A second later his hand came up and began rotating the lever to open his window. It only went down half as much as anticipated. He looked at it with a single eye, "Wh'dsn't it open all the way..."

"We ordered it like that from the manufacturer. Would air flow keep you up?" she asked with a smile and lowered her window to generate a cross breeze. It was rewarding to see him regret downing those drinks, however many he ended up consuming. This was an especially funny scene after his earlier jab at Heero and how he should have 'slowed down'.

"That's the intention...staying con~shh'us," he said and sat back again, trying to catch his breath momentarily. He used short, shallow breaths. This became more obvious when he was breaking into a sweat, tugging his shirt away from his skin to generate a current of air.

Relena noticed when it got worse and was trying to decide what to do, "Duo, should I pull over?" They were only seconds away from their destination, could he make it?

Duo squinted his eyes and concentrated on his state of mind. "Don't worry...I'll fit."

"What no!?" Relena said and looked over. Without any warning Duo rose from his seat, as far as he could, and began puking out the narrow space the window offered. Relena panicked and went into distress. She swerved closer to the shoulder of the road, "Duo!" and unlatched his seat belt so he could get further out the small opening. It was then she realized he may fall out entirely. "Oh no, don't slip," she grasped his belt loop at the back of his pants. "...should I stop?" she asked while holding his backside with one hand and the wheel of the car with the other. '_This is eloquent_,' she thought. So close to having an event free ride.

Duo tried to answer, but couldn't stifle any internal actions for a few more seconds. Finally he managed, "...uhh, don't bother, we're here...actually stop, I need to get out." They slowed to a stop at his friend's house a few moments later. The ill stricken passenger slinked his way back inside the vehicle after everything was still. To his surprise he still managed to open the door all by himself(it did happen twice). Holding the handle for support, he leaned out, this time to fill the gutter. The drinks were no longer delicious, they were wasted, and ultimately regretted.

"...when you're finished..." Relena said with a drained voice.

He stayed silent for a few seconds, spat, then nodded, "Real'sorry 'bout this," he said, not able to turn and face her.

"It's okay, no harm done." She rubbed his back as he sat at the edge of her car, letting him catch his breath. She had been told 'everyone has a night like that' at one point, she assumed this was his night; and it felt like her own fault on account of all the tickets she gave him.

Relena saw Duo's friend come out of his house and start waving to them from the stoop. She flagged him over. "You have someone coming over to get you." She waited until they were inside the house before she got out to look at the damage to, "My car...oh dear," was all she could muster. It was a mess. "Better out, than in," she said positively, but found very little amusement in the double entendre. The interior would have been much more difficult to deal with, she considered herself lucky for that reason alone. After she stopped at a detail station to spray off the side of her vehicle, it was back to the banquette.

When she got there, her mind was dead set on making sure the rest of her guests hadn't done anything too offensive, to themselves or otherwise. Hopefully no one else had so viciously put themselves out of commission.

* * *

There, that fits much better. ^^


	4. Chapter 4: Last Hours

Thank you to my reviewers and my followers! I'm pumped. :D  
Also, thanks for pointing out the relationship between Trowa and Catherine. I always thought she looked to him 'like' a little brother, but upon closer inspection I see that they are indeed blood related. I have officially creeped myself out, yeah!

Kind of glad I went with the 'glaze over them walking to his room' bit. I'll clear up the mistake in another chapter. I even have an 'out' for the mistake that works.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Last Hours**

* * *

It didn't take too much longer, but Quatre was the next to go. Shaking him from his daze, Relena managed to rustle him into standing up and walking. He was rather talkative. "Thanks again. All of us ended up meeting tons of great people...a lot of connections," he said with a vague slur, "We decided to celebrate with all those tags Duo had. Wherever he got them," he said.

She ruthfully laughed at herself. "I'm glad you had fun tonight," Relena gave it some thought, "And, you've only thanked me once," she giggled; Quatre was delightful when he was drunk.

"Then: Thank you...and thank you again," he said while laughing. She led him to her car and Quatre flopped in the front seat, shutting his eyes momentarily. Relena's door opened and shut, loudly. "I'm up," he said suddenly when it slammed.

Relena began her second trip to the dormitory, third trip of the night, with Quatre. "Who did you get to talk to tonight? It was really busy, I didn't get a chance to see everyone there," she said, for she was too preoccupied with Heero and then Duo.

Quatre talked about the people he met up with at the ball: arms specialists, ambassadors from other countries and even some representatives from the united nations. "And those people can drink, wow," he spoke abruptly and to the point. "I was surprised Trowa could keep up with them, topic-wise and drink-wise. I tried a shot of whiskey'wit them at the end of the night-it's making me so tired." He was swimming in his own head because of it. "This is why I don't like alcohol, it takes the'good'out'a'you," his words were slowly becoming one.

Lucky for Relena, he occasionally changed the pitch of his words, so it was easier to separate them in her head. "They do like being social about it. I think it only hinders you when you consume too much." She hinted and pulled into to the driveway of the dorm. He was now living there to go to school instead of being schooled independantly. She hoisted him out of the car, as she did for Heero, but with less guidance. Quatre was still somewhat in control.

"True. I wasn't even _trying _to drink! Duo dropped the first one on me, some kind of beer. The second, was one from th-the governor general, she ended up not liking her drink and gave it to me. It tasted like black licorice, it was okay. I forgot, the wine from the toast...then one...th-the one that tasted like raspberry candy that Duo didn't finish, which I'm sure was a double, or a triple. The next one-" He laughed as he walked in front of Relena going up the stairs, wavering from side to side as he did, "The name of the drink I had was a pun. Missy said: You are what you drink. The mix was called a 'Blonde Hair Blue Eyes'." He poked the side of his cup where the three layers initially rested. "It had three different colors, and they all stayed separate. Oh, and Duo's tequila sunrise, I tried a sip of that one too. Gosh," he paused, "I did drink a lot...these drinks are a trap." he said as if he suddenly realized a great truth, his talking even ground to a halt.

"A trap?" Relena stepped ahead of him and held the door to leave the stairwell.

"They didn't taste like alcohol, I drank them like juice. I think that's why Trowa stuck with the wine, it had bite...and-by the way-is that Trowa's scarf?" He reached out and held up the left side of the garment in question, wondering why she was wearing something like that in this humidity. He laughed almost silently, "You should keep it on, it looks good with that outfit." He let the scarf go. "Thank you again. Heh, that's three now, isn't it?" He and Relena shared a laugh then she held out her hand to him. "What?" he said sounding confused.

"The glass," she was going to tell him about it sooner, but wanted to see if he would notice on his own. "I'll take it back to the hall for you."

A glass resided in his hand, it was from one of his drinks. It only had a bottom left. He laughed at his own folly and ended it with a snap, "Trap," he said, handed her the glass and saw her off.

Since he had drawn attention to it, it wouldn't get off her mind; the scarf was chafing her neck because it was humid. She tossed it over her arm and decided to check on Heero. She needed a sound mind if she were to return to the banquette in good spirits. She laid down her items and leaned over his bed. He was breathing heavy, but he was doing well. She figured that he wouldn't be up for returning after all. Once again, she made her way back to the hall.

The last person she hoped was doing alright, was in fact, beyond alright. Wufei sat back, with the same brand of wine from the toast, glass number unknown, counting his winnings. "You must be pleased," Relena said to him.

Wufei nodded, "Yup," he replied and didn't lose count.

"...how much did you get?" she was forcing small talk, it was quite apparent that she was on edge while doing so too. He counted a few numbers out louder, to let her know where he was at and continued on. "Nicely done...quite nice..." she said.

"Yup..." He paused to sip his drink and went back to counting.

"...you _are_ aware that any winnings made on these grounds need to be donated to the foundation holding the event...in this case, the school," she said dryly, "I'll get the rule book if you want."

He stopped dead in his tracks, for he had been busted. "No need." Emotionless, he handed over the cash; before letting go of the bundle he said, "That mark on your neck sticks out." Wufei sat back, hands free. "Rather unsightly."

Relena panicked. In the heat of the moment she wasn't really thinking about her appearance, the thought of Heero leaving a mark didn't occur to her. He must have done it when he did that 'tongue thing'. Her face turned a beat red. "I-uh, when-I-" And she left her scarf Trowa gave her in Heero's room.

"You could use _my_ scarf," he sported a similar scarf to Trowa's; school issue, with their emblem and initial. "I'd need it back...so, for a price, I'll be willing to rent it out to you," his swindling side didn't simmer down any. Wine washed around in his glass as he made his offer.

With a reluctant hand, she gave him half of the money back, "I need to take some of it, you gambled out in the open. Policy and such..."

"I understand," he smirked, rejoicing in the winnings he wasn't expecting to keep. Wufei was aware of the restrictions for 'winnings' made on the property, he was playing for fun (to teach humility to the suits, using suits). The fact he got to keep any money was a bonus. "Tonight didn't _suck_ that bad after all," he said with playful derision, "Relena?" she snapped him a look. "I'd like a ride home..." he remarked in a calm tone, "...when you're ready, of course. I'd hate to force you..." Since Wufei was in good spirits, he got to stay until the end of the party.

His comment made her feel even worse for what she and Heero did. For another two hours she got to enjoy the company of her guests with her sweaty, scarf neck. They eventually dispersed and Relena got the chance to retreat back to her quarters for the evening. She was about to ask Wufei to not mention anything about her hickey on the ride to drop him off, but figured all the others knew already. Hence: Trowa offering the scarf, Duo fixing her hair, Quatre suggesting the scarf remain on; they all knew, except for the one who actually did it. Even in the stupors of drunkenness, they were still incredibly intelligent.

She deemed it necessary to check on Heero one final time before she left permanently. It was a good thing she did, he had moved and was passed out holding on to the edge of his tub. Not even lifting the seat of the toilet she hit the flusher, in case he was in there for a reason. She wasn't up for seeing any more of _that_ in one night. Relena felt even more guilty about agreeing to drug him in the first place, it was a selfish decision that she could have prevented. She only wanted him to have a little fun, not pass out cold. "Heero," she said and nudged him gently. He moved, stirring away from the fixtures. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

"I think I fell asleep on the floor," he said and began to try and get up.

"It's okay, don't rush. Were you sick?" If he said yes, she was going to feel worse.

He thought for a moment, "I thought I was going to, but I fell asleep. What time is it?" Heero checked his mental and physical faculties, they seemed to be in order; with exception to his balance.

"It's late, nearly one," she said.

"What? I showed up to the party at six?!" he panicked as he remembered things slowly. It was rather sobering. "I've been out for 'four' hours?" He rubbed his face with an open palm, removing any sleep from his eyes.

"Don't worry, you're not in any trouble," she said and assured him, "you got what you needed to do 'done'." Relena scrunched her face up from fatigue and sat on the edge of his tub. "I wanted to have fun tonight too...but I ended up playing chaperone. At least our game of pool was fun," she reminded him, wondering where the beginning of his memory loss was.

"Pool?" he said with confusion, until the memory came back an instant later. "-r-right...who won?" He only remembered up until they started playing and that was it.

Relena breathed a sigh of relief, "I did," she said, rather glad she didn't have to explain things right away. For someone who was holding a banquette, she sure hadn't spent a lot of time there. The gathering wasn't for her to begin with, it was for the other students to gain recognition; she knew her presence mattered not.

"I...o-okay." He sat up on the floor and tried to balance himself. "I remember...coming in here because I was warm. I held on to the tub to cool off..." He held a hand to his chest, exposed through the unlatched buttons of his dress shirt. "I kept moving up a little, so it'd be cold again." His delivery was classic 'Heero' style, flat and to the point. It was hilarious to see him so confused by his own actions. "Yo-u-...did you end up driving anyone else home?" He started to feel bad about making her miss out on the evening.

She said with a smirk, "Everyone-but Trowa. Duo nearly destroyed my car." She was venting now but really, she was over it.

"...And we played a game of pool too?" Heero asked as he allowed himself to wake up fully, leaning against the sink and counter to do so.

Relena blushed unknowingly, "Y-yes."

He noticed her expression. "You didn't spend much time with your guests...did you?" he asked. It seemed Heero was going somewhere with the observation, the destination remained unknown for the time being.

"Not as much as I'd liked-but I had a wonderful night. Quatre was especially fun to take home, so talkative. I've never seen him like that before." Relena tried to continue the small talk but she really wanted to do something about how guilty she felt, lest she explode. Her conscience was getting the best of her. "I brought some brandy, but I only got one drink out of it. I was a taxi for a portion of the night, so I couldn't drink any." She laid a hand on her purse.

Heero noticed this, "Why not drink it now?" he suggested hoping she still had it on her.

"Now...?" she pondered. She didn't want to drink alone. Relena had secretly been carrying a little flask in her purse the whole evening, it went largely unused until then. She was planning on polishing it off throughout the night with her friends, but stopped when the drama with Heero went down. "I have a flask...I suppose I could have a nip." She went into the small evening bag and produced a long narrow flask, engraved with paisley designs and various swirls. She popped the lid and took a big mouthful, it felt like an act of contrition. "It's strong."

"I have some cans of...something." He got up from his soothing, cool floor and hunted down two carbonated beverages while still feeling groggy. They left the bathroom and sat down in the bedroom. He on the edge of the bed, she, on a fold out chair nearby. "Take a drink from the can to make room first," he said as he handed it to her. Relena dumped a sufficient amount into her pop, "Mind if I have some?" he asked while popping his own tab.

"Sure." She held it out to him to do the same. When returned to her, she dumped even more in her own can. "I got so caught up in running the party, that I wasn't thinking straight...I'm sorry," she said and took a drink, cringing from the strength, "If you don't remember who won our game, then you don't remember what we did...afterward..."

"No, I don't..." There was a lump in his throat, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear any of it. Heero knew in his own mind that something happened, he had a few brief flashes of the scenes. They were so vague it felt like they were a part of a dream, and he had no way of knowing for sure how much of it was real. Relena told him everything. She explained the pool game and the stipulations of her win. How he sat in the hall while she carted Duo around. And finally what happened when she dropped him off in his dorm room hours ago. "Is that so," he said in disbelief. "How do I know you aren't embellishing the truth?" Heero had a point. She made some heavy claims that needed to be backed up, they sounded too farfetched even for a night of booze.

In a simple motion she tugged Wufei's scarf out of the way and replaced it again. It was enough to render Heero speechless. "I-I...didn't mean for it to go so far...I-I'm sorry, Heero." She took another sip.

He admired the fact she came forward and told him everything willingly. None of it rang a bell but her honesty was well received. It may have been from the brandy she brought in, or maybe his feelings were changing, but he smiled. "I had fun, apparently." He poked the bottom of her can more upward as she took a drink. It was now his turn.

Her mind retreated to the gutter, where it so rightfully belonged. "Seems fair." Relena took an extra long nip.

* * *

Hehe, guess what? You guys can't read the next chapter...well, not all of it. :)  
Reason: Because I can't post it here.

You'll be getting a 'cut' version of the next chapter and the 'steamy' part is going to be elsewhere. Happy hunting! XD


	5. Chapter 5: Two After-Parties

Final chapter for the wrap up...

* * *

**Chapter 5: Two After-Parties**

* * *

They chatted about the party and revisited some events, hoping he would remember things. Maybe sipping brandy while trying to do that wasn't so productive. He didn't even recall the time Quatre asked him if he was alright, let alone being driven home. The stories were still entertaining though.

They talked for a while until Relena decided she was getting warm. After opening a window she retreated to the washroom, only to briefly freshen up and pep talk herself silently in the mirror. "I can do this, just not too far," she said, slightly dizzy. The prospect of being with Heero like that again overshadowed her judgment, or maybe it was the brandy dazzling her. Either way, she took a spot on the bed and he instantly took a spot on her lips. Not fighting the current, this went on for a few seconds until she broke the embrace, "Are we really thinking clearly?" She had a point, this was the thing she was kicking herself for initially, not that she wanted him to stop.

"Don't think about it like that," he caught her attention, "Why do you chase me?" His head stayed close to her face so his voice didn't need to be so loud. It was low and husky that way.

"Because you're hard to catch," she laughed. Relena was beginning to feel kind of drunk, she shut her eyes to drift as she listened to him.

He nodded, "Exactly," and laid her back on the bed. "When I'm 'not so hard to catch', it turns you on."

"You don't have to say it like that." She shut her eyes, it made her more excited when he said things like that. It seemed Heero was going to tell it like it was, regardless of her protests. He spoke naughty to her earlier too, when he was really wasted; it was a pattern, one that would likely continue.

"You got me to drink so I would be vulnerable; because if I was uninhibited, I may agree to things I wouldn't do normally," he laid kisses the length of her neck as he spoke.

She heard this and got defensive, "Heero, I didn't plan it to be like that, I wasn't trying to manipulate-" she was cut off.

"-what if I liked it?" he asked and buried a kiss deep into the side of her neck, silencing her. He got the impression his comment made her think, so he continued, "I have my wits about me all the time, maybe the thought of being taken by you in a moment of weakness, turns _me_ on." He found the reddish spot he made before and once again assaulted her with those gentle brushing circles. Had he remembered the move from before, or had this been an idea in his head for a while.

"Does it?" she asked. His tongue was wicked, it made her blush to hear it and now to feel it. Relena drew a sharp breath.

"Does it _what_?" he egged her on.

Catching on to his mind game she sighed, for she had fallen right into that verbal trap. "Let me get this straight: You like being vulnerable and I like taking advantage of you." She recalled the speculation from earlier, on how her personality would shift if she were drunk, she didn't expect it to be like _that_ for her. "We switched personalities, just like the others," she said with a giggle. It was funny to her because as an advocate of peace and pacifism, forcing someone to make a decision using illicit substances went against everything she stood for; uder-aged use a bit risky too. "This is why politicians hide their sex life, isn't it," her thoughts meandered as Heero remained perched above her, listening intently. She quickly blushed, realizing she called what they had going on a 'sex life', or at least she compared it to one.

"Because, they're kinky behind closed doors?" he asked and laid a gentle bite on her shoulder.

"Must you say those things?" It didn't bother her, not in a bad way anyway, it sent a chill through some very sensitive areas.

"Yes. If I didn't say things, you wouldn't know what I was thinking." He took joy in tormenting her, it was that much better to see her in sexual distress rather than real distress.

This statement enraged her. She laughed and pinched his sides, "Me, know what you're thinking?! I never know what you're thinking because you run away!" As she said this she fought with him for dominance, and won. Relena managed to pin him to the bed. She grinned. "Now that I got you, I have some questions," she said then noticed her nail dug into his arm in their tussle, "I'm sorry, I've maimed you," her drunken exaggeration was amusing to him.

He laughed, "It didn't hurt."

She was convinced that it did sting but he was acting tough. "Fine, how about this," she said and lined her fingernails up to his collar bones. She saw him tense up. "I wouldn't actually do it."

"Go on," he said and sealed his eyes. He opened a single eye, "Not too hard." He left the shirt undone to cool off, now it served to have the opposite effect.

"Okay..." she said and gingerly pulled her nails across his skin. It was enough to leave light red marks and apparently enough for him to sigh in pleasure. "You like it?" she asked and repeated the motion, this time in a slightly different area. He arched his back and squinted his eyes the second time around. "You like it," she said with more certainty. As her hands reached the base of his bare skin, they came back in contact with his belt buckle. "...you're hard," she said and caressed him through his clothing.

"Is that a problem?" he laid back, fully open to intrusion, enjoying being pet.

"Not really," she said without a hitch and began undoing his belt. The way he squirmed beneath her made her feel powerful, she crossed her fingers that she would be able to recall these moments.

Heero tugged at the front of her shirt before she could go on, "Take this off." As instructed, she pulled it over her head and exposed her bra-less skin. Heero sat up and leaned against the headboard for this. He remained semi-exposed through his half open pants. "I thought it was a dream. You weren't wearing anything under there after all," he said as he revisited the delicate nubs, unable to remember the first time he did so. They were warm against his mouth. Each time he tried to grasp some soft tissue between his lips, it would slip away. Each attempt was fruitless, but he kept at it.

"A dream? You dream about me?" she asked and gently she reached down the back of his draped shirt. She pulled her nails upward, making him sound for more.

"Sometimes I do...like when I would be on a long mission, riding through space. I'd fly for days with nothing to do. I'd wondered what it would be like if you came along on one of those trips." He began sharing his fantasy as she lightly scratched away at his shoulders and back of neck area. "I'd thought about you riding _me_ as flew Wing Zero. In this position too." She was sitting on his lap facing him, the perfect way to conserve space in the cab of his mobile suit, he assumed.

"I thought the throttle might get in the way, but it proved useful in some scenarios." His hands found their way behind her, feeling for that delicate string she called 'underwear' as a guide. He cradled her bottom with both hands as they sat there. "The throttle would hit right here," he said and moved his fingers along her lower lips, making her gasp. "I'd have to be careful not to let you land on it," as he spoke, his fingers found and played with the very sensitive area. "I'd hold you just like this, and if I felt the throttle on the backs of my fingers, I knew I'd gone in too far. Then I'd have to hold you up higher." His hands tightened and pressed up, stimulating her suddenly, yet again.

"This mean...you thought about going inside of me before tonight..._and_ being Rough about it?" She said with a mile wide smirk. Now she was the one saying naughty things. "We can't go all the way right now, I don't have any protection."

"No worries, that's not quite what I had in mind," he said. The use of words quickly dropped off and the moment grew intense as Heero showed her what was on his mind. A few face-palmed moans were as close as either of them got to language from that point on. Three separate releases were shared between the two, blissfully etching itself into their memories.

When Heero finally caught his breath his eyes opened, once again seeing the spinning room. "Not bad," he said and relaxed, buzzing, satasfied.

"Agreed," she said feeling the same way. Relena quickly slinked over him, straightening their bodies on the bed. Where as most would check in or cuddle with their new partner after such an encounter, neither did. When all was said and done they passed out together and that was enough. She laid on her stomach, arms propping her head up as she snoozed the rest of the night away at his side.

The next morning happened far too soon. Heero's phone rang at eight, it was Quatre asking for coffee. Relena hunted down her clothing and said her goodbyes. She didn't try to stick around, for he had shared more than enough of his time with her. He also probably wanted to keep any personal matters to himself. "Would you be up for coming to a show with me? I'm on the mic this weekend." She was planning on going alone to do the announcements, but having him to keep her company would be nice. "It's an awards ceremony with lots of sitting and clapping."

"I've got a few papers to write, I could keep you company as I work on them." He bussied himself with finding a new shirt and pulled it over his head.

While his back was turned, Relena noticed he sported some visible red stripes. She blushed and recalled the night past. "Sounds good, I'll call you before Thursday," she said and reached for the handle.

"Hold on," he said and looped an arm around her waist, holding her close, "Don't you drive. I'll call a ride for you, go to the front." As simply as that, he let her go again. Heero was in the right, if she was still groggy from the brandy she could get in trouble if pulled over.

"Very well. Thank you for the company," she said and took her leave.

Heero rang the taxi service, all the while wondering if you were supposed to thank someone for that sort of thing. Did he regret spending the night with Relena? No. He had taken what the 'white suit' said to heart: If he were to progress, Relena's word was gold. He also took note to how detached she was, she didn't cling to him as she usually did when they got up. Maybe giving her some time now and then was all he had to do to keep her at bay. He made up his mind to dedicate himself to going with her the following weekend, without the drink this time, to see if he really had anything for her.

Quatre showed up shortly after, thankfully not passing Relena as she made her way out. "I still feel drunk," he said as he sat down in the extra chair in his room. He was fortunate that Heero agreed to make him coffee, being sober and able to comprehend conversation was essential for him to get through the day. He took a sip of his hot beverage, "Duo called me, I told him I was coming here."

"Why would you do that?" Heero asked as if he were complaining about a rain shower happening in the middle of the day. Duo was his closest friend, he was going to be able to tell something was up just by the way he was acting. He wasn't looking to talk about his encounter with Relena so soon after it happened.

"He probably isn't doing too good," Quatre defended him because he bore witness to the bartender sousing him up. Two thirds of what Duo drank was unintentional. Though he felt it served him right for admitting to spiking Heero's drink.

Pouring himself some coffee he sat at the edge of the bed, where he had been only hours earlier with his fling. "I was told by inside sources that he dropped something in my drink; and here I was blaming it on Relena."

"No, that was Duo. Relena was extremely helpful last night, she even helped you down to the car. By they way, how are you feeling this morning?" He showed general concern.

Heero knew nothing of how he got home, he only picked up when Relena shook him from his tub poised position. "Pretty good. I woke up holding on to the tub," he equivocated.

Quatre laughed, "I didn't sleep well, and when I woke up I was still like this," he said and pointed at his head. "I wasn't a big fan of alcohol and I think I have legitimate grounds to not like it now." He had taken in so much of the drink that his body didn't even have time to process all of it.

As they spoke, there was a heavy, slow knock at the door. When opened, it was a sorry sight. Poor Duo stood there leaning against it's frame, his arm not yet lowered from it's knocking position and rested atop the large tin bucked he was hugging. Eyes closed he managed to say, "Quatre said you have coffee."

Heero shrugged and let him in, distinctly remembering the nausea he too felt; he could only imagine the pain his friend was in. "Didn't the person you stay with have coffee," though he couldn't show sympathy, for he didn't want this to become a habit.

Duo moved lucidly across the room. "Hey Quatre-he did but it was instant and since I know you're a snob when it comes to hot beverages I want your coffee and your floor, excuse me." He laid his empty bucket outside the bathroom and went in to curl up.

"Insulting me isn't how you get coffee," he didn't take well to being called a snob. Duo did have a point though, he did buy good beans. 'Instant' tasted like garbage and was for missions, and missions only. "What's with the bucket?" he asked, assumed he had it because he wasn't feeling well. He watched Duo take up refuge by the tub, a familiar place.

"I got a cab and didn't want to chance messing up the car. They make you pay extra for that stuff, did you know that?" They didn't know that, but it was a piece of information worth remembering. He didn't remember Relena taking him home, nor had he been sent the bill for cleaning her car. It was in the works.

Trowa was the next to appear, fresh as a daisy(the bastard), offering his sage like advice to a retching Duo. "You need to drink water, you'll never feel better if you try waiting it out."

Catching a breath through dry heaves, "Good...to know...cup?" he said from within the bowl. Heero took the hint and brought him a bottle of water from a quickly emptying mini fridge. "Even better, thanks," Duo said. Heero cracked the bottle for him and left to his own devices. "You even opened it for me? Aww, Heero's giving me pity."

Trowa took up residence against a book shelf, "Traveling with a circus quickly familiarizes you with the tricks of the trade. People think coffee sobers them up, no, it's drinking the water that rehydrates you." He sipped his drink of fancy, non-instant coffee.

"You've done this before then?" Quatre asked, his head still being bombarded by booze.

"A couple times, but I've had to deal with the aftermath of drinking from others a lot. I've had practice." When you were on the road, drinking was one of the few passtimes the circus folk could enjoy. "I also know how to pace myself," he said and gave note to Quatre's lack of sobriety.

"I won't be doing that again, don't worry," he rested against the nearest wall to his chair.

"_Heard_ that," Duo said from the other room, as an acknowledgment of Quatre's true words.

"Me too," Heero said in a volume loud enough for everyone to hear, "Provided I'm _allowed_ to stay sober."

Duo laughed ruthfully at himself, "Heh~, I had this coming, I got ya', karma." He was too exhausted to argue or lie.

"You missed a fun evening," Quatre said, being one of the few people who could remember things. He brought up all the different people at the party and how much their connections expanded in one evening. They were inturrupted by the bathroom make noises again, loud ones.

"Drink some water," Trowa said with little enthusiasm.

"What's the point?" he said in accordance to his current ability to retain things.

There was another knock at the door. This time it was Wufei who came in. He sat on an empty section of the bed and looked as though he was trying to solve a complex equation. "I have no idea what happened..." he said and looked over to Heero, the one pouring another reluctant cup of coffee.

"About what?" Quatre asked, being slightly more alert now.

Wufei reached into his pocket and emerged with a handsome sum of money, "I have no idea where this came from." He had a few too many pre-party drinks and didn't remember a single thing, "Did I rob somebody?" He looked around to see many confused faces staring back; apparently his actions were contrary to someone who was that drunk.

"You leveled everyone at cards!" Duo yelled from the bathroom, "You suck!" No one could tell if he was mad at Wufei because of the money he made, or the fact he wasn't hungover.

When the after-party was over, as piled out of the dorm room, Quatre was the last to exit. He noticed something peculiar on his travels. "Is this mine?" he said and removed an empty glass from Heero's bookshelf, it had a neon green stir stick. Quatre assumed he brought it in himself absent mindedly. "I'm still out of it this morning, sorry."

Heero froze in his tracks, unaware of the glass's presence. He didn't see Quatre holding anything when he came in, he had no clue where it came from. "No problem, talk to you later," he said and shut the door, relieved he didn't get questioned further.

When the four neared the front door of the dormitory, Quatre paused and said "Wait..." looking at the glass he had been in the bottom of the night before, "...I asked Relena to take this back after she dropped me off..." They all looked at each other, knowing full well Heero knew more than he was letting on; they walked away when they knowingly decided he would never tell.

* * *

Final chapter, in this arc(I mean)!  
Wa-Bam! Plot bunny, successfully recorded on digital paper.

Now this is the interesting part...this is the point where I was originally going to stop. It seemed like a reasonable conclusion to the story. But when I got here, I failed to notice that, along the way, another plot bunny showed up...and they had babies, lots of plot bunny babies!

So I'm not stopping here, I'm going to use this party as a launch pad for dealing with the transition into young adulthood. When most people write about becoming a young adult, they tend to forget that not everything goes as planned. Or that, 'only one thing goes wrong'.

And normally all it takes is one event to make your brain go 'Hey, wait, hold on. Where did my control go?' Then it's all down hill from there. And judging from the fact these guys are most likely to be riddled with PTSD and in no condition to take care of themselves. At least not without social support. Where the point of the rest of this story comes from. You'll see.

The naughty bits are up on Adult Fanfiction to whom ever is interested.


	6. Chapter 6: A Day in Life

Now that Heero and Relena (1xR) have some momentum, time to leave them alone and move on to Duo! I want to focus mostly on the first three pilots, but I'll in-cooperate the other two as well. I do this, only because I feel Trowa and Wufei are more 'together' when it comes to their mental faculties, more so than the others at least.

Of course I'll show, not just tell.

**Thoughts to make you think...**_(you may skip this, or read it, if you like psychology)_

Something I neglect to see among the fanfiction community is 'realism', most people here are young, so it's understandable. They make character's who are drunk just acting silly or saying stupid things, because they don't understand how one's 'filter' acts during a heavy night of drinking. As I mentioned in an earlier chapter that 'little voice that usually said _no_' not being there, that's accurate. Your 'I should just do this' mentality takes over and you end up with situations like Heero's and Relena's.

Did any of you think they tried to salvage the evening, by choosing to be together in the end? Almost as if they wanted to 'own the situation'. And what about Duo and Quatre? They drank themselves into the ground and didn't even realize it. How do you think this is going to bode for the idea of self control?

Finally, by extension, and to the fault of no one, many people position the hangover to be a very 'pussy' state of being. One that takes place in the safety of 'around the house', as if life stops when you aren't feeling well. _Ha_, I say. **Ha**! No, people, you don't know hell until you've had a 'for-real-real-hangover' while the world still turns. And sitting in class or at a job with a hangover is far different from running errands, ones you can't call off, or delay.

To those of you who have, I'll probably invoke a '_heard that_' when you read this.

Speaking of which, do _you_ remember what happened to Duo at the party? Hehe, he doesn't. *lol*  
Read the author's note at the bottom, you'll get a better view on what I mean. I want to show you something cool. :)

I'll be doing this a lot more, talking to you guys about the psychology behind the story, so get used to it. :P

* * *

**Chapter 6: A Day in Life**

* * *

Duo sat on the subway, hugging his bucket close for the ride into town. The edges of the tin monster felt like razors on his face, and when the handle clicked off the side, it sounded like a thunder clap. Heero hadn't granted him enough floor time to recuperate, but he still had things to do that day that couldn't wait. It was mid semester and he needed to pay off tuition and juice up his food card for the following months. Eating at school was expensive, he really wished he had a permanent place to cook food.

His grades were flawless and he received sponsorship because of it. It also allowed him to attend any private school of his choosing. All of that only took him so far, he was still required to pay off the remainder of his tuition on his own. To get funded to continue going, he needed to fill out the right paperwork, done once every three months. He put it off for a long time and today was one of the last days he could turn in his papers. Tomorrow was a weekend and all government buildings were closed on Saturday and Sunday; and Monday would result in a delay of money he couldn't afford. Luckily it was only a matter of passing paperwork to the right people, not a complicated process, it was more tedious than anything else. '_Of all the days it could have been_,' he kicked himself(gently) for waiting so long to do it.

He traveled to and from Heero's dorm, to the school's main office in town, three different government buildings and then a post office, on foot. Tedious. No. Tormenting. Duo fought through the headache and pain. It made his two hour errand feel like a lifetime. The worst part of it was being hit with another wave of queasiness in the middle of the trip and needing to turn to a shrubbery as a reciprocal. An old lady offered her sympathies when he said it was food poisoning. It was embarrassing to get sick in public, it only added to his grief, as did the thorns on the bush.

Even still, Duo was glad he decided to abandon the large tin bin long ago, for walking while being so zombified, and glaring at receipts, was difficult enough to do by itself. He walked down the road, feeling his pulse beating in each limb. The pulsation was worse where his clothing was tighter, like his collar, belt and boot straps.

On the receipt in hand, he noticed a miscalculation on his budget. He was a few digits off, in the 'tens position'. "Thirty bucks," he grumbled to himself, "Then that's...one-twenty." A decent food budget for the month. It wasn't all that bad, he had become accustomed to buying on the cheap. Provided he went on a sale day, he could make the food money stretch.

The only other thing left that day was to go home, though calling it a 'home' was a stretch. Duo had asked around to some friends, seeing if anyone could put him up for a few days at a time for free. He would buy his own food and chip in with household upkeep as compensation. A lot of people graciously offered him a place to stay. Spacing all the offers out correctly, Duo was covered for the remainder of the year. Even though it was a heartfelt gesture on everyone else's part, he was still technically homeless.

The point of his nomadic nature was to pay off debt. Any money that would normally go toward room and board, went to paying off the bill collectors. Deathscythe's parts and repairs ran him into the ground, more so than he did to it, when he pushed that self-destruct button.

If he planned his money right, he'd pay off his bills and have a chance to save some money before summer vacation. Not that it was priority, but he wanted to take a trip that summer to somewhere fun. If he couldn't save, it was going to be a solid, mind numbing 'work-all-summer' kind of summer. It was 'live paycheque to paycheque' now or have a boring summer. He chose the first one.

Taking the subway was free, his student card offered him at least that grace. With blurry eyes he pawed through his wallet for his pass. Unfortunately slowed by the hangover, he took too long to get it together and allowed a large group of people to fill the line he was aiming for, their readied tickets in hand. "For cryin' out loud." Duo threw his hands up in the air in defeat. Unfortunately his student card didn't offer him the grace of cutting everyone in line. He waited 'patiently'.

The long line pushed him to the breaking point once again. "Drink water he said, great idea," Duo muttered as he trotted off to the subway car's bathroom, cursing Trowa's poorly implemented treatment all the way. 'Occupied', the door defiantly read. "Can you hurry up," he said and laid a few frantic fists on the door.

"These hand dryers take forever," came from the other side.

He huffed, nearly breathless and holding his stomach, "I'm sick! Get out or I'm going in front of the door!" It was at that moment he swore he wouldn't drink again, '_Like that, anyway_,' he was sure to add. He made it as far as the sink and was grateful for it. He'd only braved drinking water that morning, it was only a matter of running the tap for a few minutes to wash anything away.

Picking up a handful of cold water, he drank as much as he could; his fingers grew numb from holding the freezing liquid. It was a wonderful feeling though, having that same cold hand pressed on his cheek. Dousing his face a few more times to lower its temperature, he sighed in relief. As he was leaning over the sink, he mentally kicked himself(second time that day). "There aren't any hand towels in here, are there?" He looked up through his fingers, soaking wet face and dripping bangs, "Son of a..." He forgot about why the guy before him was complaining, the blow dryer was taking forever, and it was the only thing in there to dry with, "Right." He blotted his face with the sleeve of his sweater and left to sit down, the dryer would only irritate his head more.

The usually uneventful subway car was filled with loud, first year high school students. They wore matching uniforms, with pretty skirts and boots. For once Duo didn't feel like chasing skirt; puking was very uncool and he wasn't risking any more embarrassing social encounters. Instead, he bundled his sweater near his head and tried to doze off. Numerous times the girls squawking startled him from his initial sleep like state. He figured it was for the best, they kept him up long enough to get transferred to the next car. To his dismay a chunk of them followed him, on purpose, so they could torment him all the way home. None of them did, it just really felt like it to an over sensitive Duo.

"Are you okay?" one of the many girls asked him. She laid a sympathetic hand on his back a few minutes into the trip. She had seen him on the other train going into the bathroom and kept an eye on him during the transfer.

It appeared one of the girls did follow him. "I'm sick. That's all," he said meekly.

"Do you know what is it?" she asked and examined his face. "You don't look like you have a fever."

"Nah, i-it's a hangover." He felt embarrassed even saying it, it put in such a lame position.

She nodded with concern, "I've been there. You need to drink lots of fluids." She turned behind them, "Kumi, do you still have that vitamin water? Would you be willing to part with it?" She began pointing to the seat nearest her, getting her friend to come closer.

Duo tried to be courteous, "I don't —you don't have to," he said before being handed a bottle of orange colored vitamin water by the other girl.

She took the seat right behind them, "There you go. It's got B6 and B12, you'll feel better in no time," she said and leaned over.

The first girl smiled, "That's Kumi and I'm Yumi. Yumi and Kumi, get it?" They laughed, for his sake they controlled the volume.

"Cute names. I'm Duo," he raised the bottle he'd been gifted, "Thanks a lot." He was grateful he got to drink from a bottle, having to cradle liquid awkwardly in hand or lean over a fountain while touching a sketchy looking handle, was hard on the head.

"You don't look old enough to drink. Where were you partying?" Kumi asked.

He blushed, not expecting to be grilled, "At the dinner the school had last night."

"I know what one you mean," Yumi said with a finger snap, "That was the one being held at the Peacecraft's building, on the west side, right? How'd you get in?"

"Seems odd," Kumi watched for compensation in his expressions from behind them. She didn't buy his story.

"I'm in the computer trade program and I'm a pilot; I had a special invitation," he said in a hush.

"You gotta' be kidding. You're a pilot?" She sounded skeptical.

Not wanting to reveal his identity to a bus full of girls, he quietly slipped his wallet out and flashed his picture identification card. "Just, shh~," he said weakly, "I'm not looking to talk much."

Yumi held up the picture adjacent his face and she and Kumi did a side by side comparison. "Duo..." Yumi said with regret, "You look like hell." This made Kumi snicker and fall back in her seat.

"I know that," he snipped. Snatching the wallet back he snapped it shut.

"Duo Maxwell? Hey, Kumi. Do you know who this guy is?" she said with quiet disbelief.

"Shh~" he begged with a single, tiny, quiet gesture; his finger delicately held up to his lips.

"...no," she said.

She turned around to face her friend, being sure to keep her voice low, "He's one of the gundam pilots."

"No way, you sure?" she said and gave him a better look over. "Oo~h...you _do _look like hell."

"Yeah, I'm not feeling well, remember," he resumed his position against the wall, feeling another 'wave' coming on. These people were stressing him out. He drank the nutritious water and tried to overcome it.

"I have something you could try, it works like a charm for me," Kumi said in a devious way.

"No way Kumi, you can't just _ask_ if he's into that," Yumi said. Apparently she knew what her friend was talking about. "Not everyone's cool with it."

He held up a hand like the queen of England, waving it lightly, "I don't care Yumi, I'm up for anything at this point. I haven't eaten a thing all day, and if this helps, it helps," he said truthfully. His blood sugar was really low, the main reason he felt so dizzy.

"You don't have to eat anything, but..." Kumi went through her things then leaned a stealthy arm over the seat. She revealed a cigarette. "Here. It's not a cigarette though; it's pot," she said quietly.

"How's that going to help?" he wasn't saying 'no', he actually wanted a reason to say 'yes'. He felt like hell, he didn't just look the part.

"You're in pain because you haven't eaten, and you've been sick all day from the looks of it," Kumi said and pointed to his cheeks. "If you keep something down, you'll feel better."

"I'm not following you." The headache was a throbbing, he wasn't in the mood to figure out riddles.

"This gets rid of nausea. Have a few puffs, you'll be good enough to eat," Kumi said, "I don't bullshit."

They hit a rough section on the tracks, causing a loud rattle to fill the cab. Duo held his eyes, for they felt like they were being electrocuted by the sound. "Okay-okay, let's do this." He got to the point he could feel the water in his eyes shift with the turn of the track, a sign of a need for outside intervention. As was his sound reasoning; it was that or risk retching on these two.

Her friend did an eye roll, "And you're going to smoke it on the train," Yumi crouched in her seat by pulling her legs up. "I can't block you any better than this. Hurry up." It sounded like this wasn't the first time she's had to do this for her classmate.

"If we had time when stopped, I'd wait. But this is for a real life hero, he doesn't look like he'll last much longer." Kumi was obviously impressed by his status, now she knew he was for real. She brought it to her mouth and started it up.

He assumed they were rich. It was just how the rich kids in the area acted, narcissistic and manipulative. "A hero, such flattery; I wish I was in better spirits." He smiled weakly. Narcissistic or not, they were helping.

"You will be." She used a torch lighter to spark the end up, it was near silent. "Blow it out the window. Try not to cough." She slid the frame to the side, causing a slight breeze from the suction to pull her smoke out of the cab and passed it to the left.

Having been a gundam pilot for so long, he had inhaled his fair share of toxic fumes; a few intentional fumes weren't going to be a problem. He hit the joint like a trooper and blew the offending smoke away. "How long will this take to work?" He felt like he was slipping. Duo's stomach howled in pain, it made hollow sounding noises.

"A few seconds. Here, I'll do the lighter part, you position the J." They teamworked the smoke and got him a couple more puffs, until he felt something. The end went out again. "Waste not, want not. Keep that in case you need a boost later on."

"Thanks," he said and popped it in his coat pocket. They pulled in shortly after and Duo parted from his newly found contacts. He added them in his phone list and would drop them a line before the weekend. "Maybe I'll get to stay at one of their houses some day," he beamed and flipped his cell shut, pleased with the idea of a sleep over at a girls place.

Duo was amazed at how much better he felt. He got a small meal from a local deli and devoured it. Passing a small coffee shop along the way, he saw Quatre. He stopped for a drink and another bite of food with him. He was feeling light and airy the whole time, thankfully Quatre didn't notice. It was good to see him doing better too, he even expressed an interest in one of their newest employees.

Finally, he was finished with the movement portion of his day. Figuring that since he was trying to use the marijuana as a form of medicine, he best be productive while it was effective. Duo took advantage of this new found second wind; he bought some food to bring back to Wufei's, where he was staying that week. After getting an order that didn't even put a dent in his budget, he headed to the house.

It was empty. It was a mess. "Time to earn my keep," he said and got to cleaning. Since gaining enough energy in his travels, he cleaned the whole downstairs areas. Living and bathroom, kitchen and hallway. "This guy needs storage," he said and moved a stack of misfiled papers into the office, they had been misfiled on the kitchen table and behind the bread box. The office was too scary. Duo left the collected papers near the door because he feared that if he ventured in, he wouldn't come out, ever.

As he finished, so did his energy burst. He crashed on the couch, a place he would later pull out to have a semblance of a bed. Wufei may have been on top of his business, but he had no sense of organization. Duo assumed that he wasn't used to owning possessions, so his 'upkeep mechanism' wasn't something that got developed. The biggest portion of the mess was papers and receipts. It was nothing for him to handle. Nothing was thrown out that wasn't garbage, everything else was bagged and stored for sorting.

He organized everything to the point that the owner of the house thought he came into the wrong address and had to double check the number of the house. Then he thought he was robbed. A notion that quickly faded when he saw the person responsible for all of it. "Duo?" he said, hoping to hear an answer, he wasn't moving. Had the mess killed him?

"Mmm~" he said in a disconnected voice, face down in a cushion.

"It looks great, thanks. Let me guess, you cleaned up and slept most of the day?" he said and came into the living room. "Huh?"

"You have no idea," Duo said, finding it funny that people thought he had an easy life. Sure he carried on a lot, it was his escapism, but he felt it made people think he had more figured out than he did.

"What did you do all day then?" He sat across the living room from his guest, cross-legged in an arm chair, inspecting for mistakes.

Duo caught his judgmental stare out of the corner of his eye. "It started out with me running around tying loose ends with a splitting head ache and gut rot. I got sick on a sharp bush, then nearly missed the can on the first subway ride. I thendodged a mob of potential fan-girls on that same annoying subway car, only to be forced to sit with two of them when I transfered; and they wouldn't shut the hell up! Then I bought food, walked here with it and then cleaned the house of a thoughtless ass! And here we are!" His sentence was a crescendo, executed 'face down' into the sandpaper-like couch.

"Sorry...sounds rough." Wufei was at a loss for words. "...are you feeling any better now?"

"Yeah," Duo fizzled out and maneuvered his head to balance on his chin. With his arms covering most of his face he said, "I'm sleeping like this, I'll pull out the futon tomorrow." He was left to sleep, by a now humbled host, who turned the light out and tossed a blanket over top of him.

* * *

**Thoughts to make you think...**

Some of you must have said 'oh, it wasn't that bad' to poor Duo. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Public transportation while sick  
Recovering on someone else's floor  
Each sound being exaggerated  
Can't eat, even if you wanted to because you have no money  
Last minute errands  
Crisis  
Lack of options  
Receiving help, but not enough  
Self-inflicted illness guilt  
Lack of transportation and many stops  
Public humiliation  
Self-conscious  
Being pitied  
Money problems  
Miscalculations because of money problems  
Awareness of own pain  
Homelessness  
Stretching the budget  
Realization of fun 'lacking'  
Planning on working all summer  
Waiting in line to do anything or go anywhere  
Dealing with inconsiderate people  
Stress of being sick  
Stupid mistakes(but getting little relief, the water on his face thing)  
Loud people  
Loud noises  
Doubt and distrust from others  
Annoying people trying to talk to him  
Drug use(relief)  
Self-conscious, again  
Paranoia  
Relief (stoned)  
Coffee with a friend  
Grocery shopping  
Tidy and rest in a clean house  
Ungrateful friend  
Grateful friend  
Sleep  
(In order of them happening)

Remember Duo's smart enough to admit that all of the days events, that went wrong, could have been prevented. He's also smart enough to know that everything that happened today, was a result of his 'choice' to drink.

What he's not smart enough to notice, and no one would be, is that he started to feel better 'after' he smoked up. So, he's told his brain 'the day was bad until I did 'this' thing', where as in 'this' could be anything (chocolate, petting a puppy or wacking it in public). All his brain knows is that things got better after that 'thing' he did.

So...how was Duo's day now? ;)


	7. Chapter 7: The Ropes

How does the rich boy handle a hangover? lol

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Ropes**

* * *

Quatre felt his day wasn't going to be much better than Duo's. When he left the dorm he had to be brought back to the hall to drop off the glass he unintentionally lifted. He did keep the stir stick as a memento of the evening. It was a memento to never drink like that again. He also recalled what Duo said as they left the dorm: 'We're not letting him do this'. Meaning, Heero wasn't allowed to keep his personal life to himself. Quatre did want to know if Heero and Relena were becoming a couple, but he was content waiting for either of them to come forward with the announcement personally.

After dropping the dish off, he continued on his way to his family's mansion for the extended weekend. The whole trip was long and he was exhausted by the time he reached his bed. Flopping down face first into the plush covers, he started to regret moving into the dorm in the first place. His bed was far nicer and much bigger than the dorm room beds.

There was the matter of his sister, Shauna. Getting to live with his second youngest sister again was quite the eye opener. She had been pampered for far too long and acquired many different habits that were strange to him. She moved in when he got his dorm room a few weeks ago and he'd only be able to tolerate living with her for a few days at a time since. The girl was getting over a break up with a recent boyfriend and needed support, being her only brother, he wanted to be there for her. Even for someone as tolerant as Quatre, he too had his limits. She was intensely spoiled. He assumed his older sister Iria wanted to help her become less intrusive by learning from Quatre's good example. The goal: Become more independent.

It was for that very reason, independence, that _he_ wanted to leave and be on his own too. It was a decision he made before he knew Shauna was moving in, the two didn't cause one another. He felt his own sheltered upbringing was more of a hindrance than a help; and what with his friends plight in adjusting to the real world, Quatre wanted to have a similar experience right along side of them. For the first while he had been retreated back to his mansion each weekend to stock up on food and see how his sister was doing and, above all else, sleep in his goose down bed. Eventually he was hoping to stay in town each weekend after he got used to living alone.

"Good afternoon, Master Quatre," said an unfamiliar voice, "Would you like some tea?" A girl appeared in the doorway holding a tray full of things to eat and drink.

Quatre waved her in, "Thank you. Could you lay it on the table?" He watched the new girl place her tray down and couldn't help but notice something. She wasn't dressed the same exact way as the other workers; there was an alteration made to her uniform that caught his eye. Out of courtesy, he kept the observation it to himself.

"You can call me if you need anything else," she bowed and turned to leave.

Normally their cleaning staff was from their home country, but since Japan was so out of the way, she was hired as an entry level employee. He only knew that she started earlier that week and was from the same school as him; this was actually the first time he'd run into her. "Before you go, what's your name?" he asked, curious about the native girl they hired. He'd never seen her in the halls either.

She blushed, "I-I'm Naibun," she said, embarrassed that she didn't think to introduce herself first. "But my friends call me Bunni." She felt that was a nice save. '_Or was it too personal. Shoot_.'

Quatre smiled, "Oh, you switched the characters around," they chuckled. He'd been getting better at noticing puns in Japanese, they _were_ everywhere after all.

She gave an uncertain laugh, "_Yes, _that's it. People from out of town don't usually get it; my friends thought it was funny." They exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes. "Would you like me to wake you up at a certain time?" she asked Quatre as he went to lay back down.

"Yes, please. About noon, should be fine," he said, still looking kind of rough from the night before with his unruly hair.

She nodded and went to leave but stopped short. "I heard that-" she said and turned, "-when you're feeling hungover, a single drink can perk you up again. We freshly bottled some wine this morning if you're interested." She hoped offering wine wasn't crossing any lines, she didn't even know if Quatre was old enough to drink.

"Thanks, but I'll stick with this for now." He held up his tea cup. "I'll keep you in mind on movie night though," he joked.

"No problem," she said with a relieved smile and left. The keys she used to navigate the house swung around on her index finger. One of them belonged to the liquor cabinet in the den. '_I can't believe I said that! I have to tell Kinsei_!' she thought as she left the room.

He wasn't serious about the 'movie night' line, but who knew, maybe he'd find a wine he liked the taste of. He shook the idea from his head, the vision of what would happen if he found drinks he enjoyed drinking _at home_ didn't look pretty. With that in mind, he knew he had to sleep the rest of last night's cocktails off. He sipped his tea and then slipped off to sleep for a couple more hours.

When he awoke fully, he had nothing to do. Shauna was out until the evening, as usual, and their new employee was busy doing her own thing, he couldn't even find her. Soon he would be _alone_ with nothing to do. He decided to spend the day looking around town instead. He'd been living in Japan for a few months and was _still_ putting it off. Today would be the day!

Right after arriving on the main road, he ran into Duo exiting the subway. He was waving to couple of his friends and had a styrofoam tray, nearly empty, in his hand. "I didn't expect you to up and moving so soon." Quatre approached him.

"Yo!" he said, sounding surprised. "Me either," he said with more spirit than when they last spoke. "I'm starving, want to get something to eat?" He tossed his nearly empty food container away in a nearby bin.

Quatre and his newly rejuvenated friend sat at a coffee shop and placed an order for more food. Quatre started off, "When I got home this morning, I found out we have a new housekeeper," he said as the waiter dropped off their drinks.

"Does she call you 'master'?" Duo snickered.

He blushed, "All my staff call me that...and, don't assume it's a girl."

"Is it?" he asked, brightly smiling.

"...yes," Quatre sighed, "She was really helpful and was even willing to get me wine to fight this hangover with."

He had seen a flask on Heero's shelf and didn't think anything else of it. Had he but known a cure was within his reach, he may not have needed to do what he did on the subway. "Does that actually work?" he said with wonder.

He said, "I don't know," with a shrug. "But next time I want to have a drink, she said I could ask her."

Duo shook his head, "I don't think I'll be doing any of that for a while. I'm still tender from last night." Saying he wasn't doing too well would have been more believable if he weren't on his third sandwich. "Maybe I'll try again next weekend."

Quatre blushed again, this time for no reason he could think of. "Is that wise? Do you even remember going home last night?" he asked.

"No. Something happen after I left?" he asked, oblivious to what he had done.

Quatre laughed lightly. Now that they weren't in a room full of people who were going to be intently listening, he might as well be the one to tell him what went down. He motioned for him to lean forward and gave him the 'readers digest' version of what happened in a hushed voice from across the table.

"...No way!" Duo spoke a bit louder than intended.

"Shh," Quatre calmed him, "She had to go to a car wash to spray the side of her car down." He smirked, "We also found out that the bar tender _was_ serving you larger drinks to make you really intoxicated. Will you complain to the manager?" Quatre felt Duo got what he deserved and was in no position to complain.

"Did she?" Duo was outraged. Though, as he thought about it more, he was less angry with the idea of being duped. He laughed, "Nah, I had it comin', I was an ass. I acted like a totally different person last night, if you ask me."

"Totally different? You seemed to be more outgoing and social than ever. How was it different?" Quatre asked.

"Are you kidding? I was so...all over the place. It was sloppy." He felt his usual charming attitude was hindered by the drink, at least that much of it. "I didn't handle last night well at all; poor Relena having to put up with that. Damn," he said and glanced off to the entrance of the café. He perked up in his seat to get a better view of something at the front door.

"Hmm?" Quatre leaned to try and see what Duo was looking at.

His attention came back. "Nothing. I'm all on edge now." He looked at Quatre, he looked worried. Why though? "Last night could have gone a lot worse; what if I tried to walk home? What if I didn't roll that window down?" Irrational fears surfaced as his attention wandered. "You don't think Relena's cross with me? Does Heero know about this?" His fingers nervously drummed the edge of the table.

"He's the one I heard it from, I doubt he's too mad. And none of that other stuff happened, don't stress yourself over it. Besides, Relena seemed content with _everything_ going out of the window, and not _on her floor_." Quatre sipped his ginger tea, red cheeked. A suggestion by the lovely Naibun was to have something with ginger. It soothed nausea and helped heal. He snickered at his own thoughts, remembering what she was wearing. "The new girl suggested this. It's supposed to calm an upset stomach when you're feeling nauseated." He doubted it would have done Duo any good last night, but it was worth bringing up.

"Come again?" Duo asked.

Quatre raised an eyebrow, his friend still seemed out of sorts. "I was talking about the girl we hired. She's nice, but..." Quatre trailed off.

"She cute?" He slyly narrowed his eyes at the one sitting across the table. His mood seemed to be coming around again.

"It's not that, that's concerning; she wears a corset with her uniform." He didn't want to say anything to her because he didn't want to embarrass the girl. Quatre said he mentioned it to their hiring manager, fearing Naibun would be penalized if someone noticed other than him. Oddly enough, he allowed it, saying it was for medical reasons. "I mean if she has trouble carrying things, shouldn't she have a job that's less strenuous?"

"It's not medical, it's a ploy," Duo began, "She's being erotic."

This made his friend turn a darker shade of red, "Duo! Come on, we're in public." He got quieter, stealthier, "What...do you mean?" Sounding more intrigued, he leaned in closer.

"Think about it," he said and counted on his fingers as he went, "There's no reason she can't wear it _under_ her uniform," one finger, "Then offering you a dirnk," another finger, "Then the tea," third finger, "It all adds up: She's flirting. I'd say make a move," he drummed those three determined fingers on the table.

"Adds up? It's only been a few hours since we even met...are you sure you're alright?" He had a feeling his friend needed to lay down, he was still acting kind of _silly_.

He caught himself being eccentric and dumbed it down, "I-I mean, see if she's interested. Throw a compliment her way."

"You're assuming I'm interested in her?" he again sipped his drink.

"You brought her up, twice I might add, probably because you're interested in her. And w~hy talk about her clothing? Probably because you wan to-" his explanation was stopped short.

"-I get it..." he dismissed the rest of the sentence. "For starters, I don't have any experience expressing my interest in someone; plus, she's an employee, she'd get fired over something like that. I think it's called a 'conflict of interest'." He wasn't too sure what that entailed though.

"That's why you don't tell anyone. Where do you think the word 'maid' came from? '_Mistress_'." He popped the last of the food in his mouth.

"There's no 'd' in that word...or an 'a' for that matter."

"Maybe I'm thinking of a movie."

"Or you're blowing smoke."

He laughed at his own failed language and Quatre's unintentional pun. "Probably that one. I might be mixing my languages too...or I really wanted to say the word 'mistress'. '_Mis~tress~_'." He put emphasis on the word the second time, making his friend face-palm. "And on that note Quatre, I'll talk to you later. I need to go buy sexy underwear and clean Wufei's place like a good little 'slave girl'." He chortled as he walked away. He over did it, just right.

"Cut that out," he said loudly. People turned to the noise. "U-uhh..." Now he too had to leave, there were far too many eyes on him.

He escaped and ended up passing a crowded skate park. If he knew even one name there, he'd venture in to socialize. Today wasn't the day for that. There were people at the back of the fenced off area doing various dance moves, another group off to the side was sitting in a circle and silently texting, and many other groups here and there, each doing their own things.

He didn't feel comfortable diving in and talking up a storm all alone. A park full of unfamiliar faces and no buffer? That meant 'no Quatre'. No one drew much attention anyway. He did take the time to make funny parallels with these people and the ones from the party the night before.

Meshing with others was best done at school, where he felt the 'young social hierarchy' wasn't as prominent. For now, he was content absorbing the culture. The remainder of his day was spent getting to know the area better. He took as many pictures from 'look-out' locations and walking tracks as he could.

Japan was a beautiful place, he wanted every chance to admire the scenery. It proved to be a good conversation piece during family reunions. Since everyone in his family, especially the men, loved the food in Japan, Quatre was sure to get pictures of a few good restaurants while he was out too. When the holidays came, bringing around the rest of the extended family, they'd have somewhere to go eat instead of staying at the mansion.

On his way to get the bus's last run of the night, a familiar car drove by. Trowa and Heero were in the front seats, "Need a lift?" Trowa asked from the driver side.

"I actually wanted to ride the bus home. I've never done it before," he said innocently. They mentioned they were heading over to Wufei's to see something, as he called it, 'amazing'. He didn't get the details, they were told to just come and see it. "Text me when you get there, I want to know what it is." Quatre smiled. After a few more passing words, the bus pulled in and his pals puttered off.

The bus generated a low rumble from the back where it's engine was. It constantly buzzed the whole time. It was a far cry from the car he was chauffeured around with most of the time; even the school's transit system was quieter. He took note to a patron in the back, riding with a couple of her friends; she had taken ill in the back of the bus. There was a plastic bag in her hands and no mess, but Quatre couldn't help feel flustered. The first time he rode the bus and that was what he got to see and hear.

Quatre's heart began racing, leaving him short of breath. His face was sweating and his heart skipped every few beats. Why had such a simple act have gotten to him so badly? It wasn't like he hadn't seen anyone ill before. In fact, he heard Duo that very morning and didn't feel the slightest bit of panic. He panted for air, unintentionally alerting the bus driver.

"You okay, kid?" the elderly man asked from behind the wheel and his thick framed glasses.

"I'm fine," he said, controlling his breathing. "This happens all the time, I'll manage." It wasn't the first time it happened, there were many times behind the helm of his gundam he felt those same symptoms. It was the same draining, exasperated breathing and fluttering heart that he felt in the more intense moments of being a pilot.

"You sure you don't need me to pull over?" he asked.

"No...but she may," he pointed at the back of the bus, it's people keeping it discrete. When stopped, the driver tried to ask them to leave, saying they couldn't ride the bus 'like that'. Fortunately Quatre interveaned, saying it was unfair. "No one can control being sick," he said. While 'reason' didn't work on the man, Quatre's face did. When the old guy got up to 'deal' with his patrons, he got a better look at the 'Winner' sitting at the front of his bus. The old guy quickly backed down. The girls thanked Quatre for standing up for them and the rest of the ride went as smoothly as the old tank of a bus could go.

Close to an hour later, he was home. As he climbed the stairs leading to the front door, his phone went off with a text from Trowa saying 'So clean. Hard to believe.' Quatre laughed at the 'amazing' news Wufei had for them. He hadn't seen Wufei's house, he'd only heard the horror stories, so it was good to hear some positive news regarding it.

Naibun was at the front to take his coat right away, "How was your outing, Master Quatre?" She was now on the last half of her 'split-shift', so she'd returned to clean up before bed time.

Doing the same thing he'd been doing a lot that day, he blushed, "Eventful. I ran into a Duo, a friend, and we had coffee. Then-" He proceeded to tell her about the things he saw on his travels and showed her some of the pictures he had shot with his phone.

"You took these with your cell? I wish my mine took such nice pictures, I only get fuzzy ones." Her phone was that of a commoner and not beyond three megapixels; as opposed to Quatre's eye raping fifteen megapixels. "I know _so_ many places to take pictures, I could take you some day-If that's appropriate." She didn't want to make it look like she was only there to ask this boy on a date, she hadn't even been there a week yet.

"Absolutely," he said with a smile, "I have escorts all the time." She blushed. He blushed in return and scrambled to correct his entendre, "I mean, people to escort me through town. I'd like it very much if you showed me around," he said waving his hands in front of himself.

Naibun laughed, "How about Sunday? I'm off."

He smirked, "I thought you had to be working to take me around?" This comment made her stutter and attempt a response. To avoid answering she shoved him off to his quarters for the evening. It looked like this girl might be interested in him after all. If nothing else came of it, it was the perfect setting to learn how to flirt. "Bunni," he said from the other side of his door that was being shut for him. He could still see her swoon through the crack in the door because he used her nick name. "I'm getting a shower, could you do me a favor?"

She turned beet red, "Y-yes, Master Quatre?"

"Could you come in, in a few minutes, and hand me a towel?" he purposefully lengthened his sentences to get a reaction.

The girl was losing oxygen as she spoke, "No problem." Naibun hopped off down the hall to look for the softest towels she could find.

He shut his door and sighed. "Guess it's not that hard," he smirked again, "I can get used to this." Flirting with her was going to be fun. For now, a shower.

* * *

Isn't it shiny? o_O


	8. Chapter 8: Open

Everyone is running into one another, this is fun. Truth be told, I never told a story like this before. Where each next chapter is the same day, but for another one of the gundam guys pov.

Time to talk to Trowa again!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Open**

* * *

Heero cursed his friends intrusion, they drank most of his coffee and unintentionally snooped on him. He was hoping to keep his fling with Relena quiet, until he was sure on his own feelings toward her. Quatre noticing that cup was definitely going to put a damper on his guise. When you spend over a year trying to get away from someone, it's a hard concept to grasp being 'near' them. A distraction was necessary so he began his school work.

He got a chunk of one assignment done, until it stopped functioning as a good distraction. He headed over to the school instead. It was Friday and a school holiday, so there was no one there besides a few dedicated athletes and some custodial staff. A few rounds of archery to begin with, a couple javelin throws and then several swimming laps; he hoped it would have diverted his mind away from thinking about Relena, and it did for a time. When making his way back into the change room he could hear people talking. They were chuckling as he passed by.

Escaping into the locker room was all he could do. Heero didn't understand why he felt so uneasy about the whole thing. It was more than likely those people were talking about something totally different, but his mind was trapped in the mentality of 'they all know'.

"I didn't know you'd be here," came Trowa's familiar voice from the end of the hall.

Heero looked over to him, "Yeah, I needed to get out of my room today." Getting out of his room facilitated his thought processes; he couldn't stop thinking about Relena in there.

"Understandable," Trowa took a seat on a bench, near where Heero was changing. "About that glass..."

"I have no idea how it got there," he said without a hitch.

"That was a quick answer." He made eye contact with the one in question. "I was concerned if anything bad happened last night, that's all," he said in a subversive way.

With a reassuring shake of his head, "Nothing bad."

"Then what," he continued.

"I'm not looking to talk about it."

"So, something did happen," Trowa had caught him.

"What?" Now he was getting on edge again.

"You said 'nothing bad' happened. Does that mean 'something good' happened?" He smirked, anticipating the answer he, and no one else, would get. Trowa knew more than he was letting on, but he wanted to see how far he could push Heero with the conversation.

He sighed, "I don't remember," he tried to make an 'out'. Heero turned around to see his friend with a wide smile on his face. "Why is it so important that you know what I did?"

Trowa, calm as ever, got up. "It's not," he said and reached into Heero's locker. Removing the magnetic mirror from the door he nodded in one direction. "Come here," he said and walked to the sink, where there was a wall length mirror. "The important thing is that _you_ knew what went on. And seeing as how you do, I'm relieved."

Heero was now looking in the mirror for marks on his neck. He figured that Relena may have given him some payback for leaving a hickey on her first. "Then-?"

"Then it's important to be self aware, right?" He saw Heero nod. Continuing with the demonstration, he turned Heero's back to the large mirror. "Then know what 'sex scratches' are my friend, and you won't be grilled," he said, cool as a cucumber and positioned the mirror so Heero could see his own back.

There were random, red horizontal and vertical stripes going every which way, more were towards his shoulders. "...nothing happened," was all he could manage, slack jawed.

"Sure, Heero." He relinquished power of the mirror to it's owner. "Either way, I'm glad you're alright. Are you busy today?" Trowa was quick to drop the 'called it' tone of voice and facial expression. Not that he was overbearing about it, he just knew how sensitive Heero was to people's true intentions. Intention being: Making sure his friend wasn't assaulted.

"I'm free today..." Heero hesitated, "It...was't nothing...that..." He held the mirror, slowly lowering it in front of him as he struggled for an explanation. He didn't even bother to turn around, lest he see how red his own face had gotten.

"I'm not judging you," he said, "Don't worry about it. Come on, get dressed. I need some help today, if you don't mind."

"Sure...uh..." Heero went back to his locker, grabbed a shirt and locked up. "I'll tell you in the car," he said and slung his bag over a shoulder.

"As long as you realize you don't 'have to'," Trowa assure him. But he did tell him; he told him everything he recalled ayway. "Wow," came from Trowa's lips as they sat in the parking lot in his car, processing the story.

Heero's head was against his passenger window in defeat. His own actions boggled his mind, the thought of doing something like that now was too nerve racking. "I don't even remember doing that...neck...thing."

Trowa raised an eyebrow. "A hickey?" Heero blushed and crouched in his seat more, hiding his eyes. "S-sorry...I mean...you're really bothered by this. Why?" He began to pull away.

He sat up an composed himself, "I never thought of her like that before-"

"Never?"

"...not often," he sighed. "I don't want to set anything in stone. She's got her own agenda and so do I; we're too busy to have a relationship."

Trowa laughed, "I never thought I'd heard you say that about her."

"So much for not judging," he folded his arms and looked off into the distance.

"I'm not, I swear; I'm happy for you. You deserve to have a little fun." Trowa was pleased Heero opened up a bit.

"What about you?"

He was caught off guard, "W-what do you mean?"

"Some of the students around the school said they saw a girl leave your room last night. What's up with that?" He said in a smug, flat tone.

Trowa looked relieved, "That was my sister, Catherine."

"Alright...then why did you get all up in arms just now," he leaned closer to the driver, "Share. Remember, no judging." Trowa slowed to a stop and pulled over to the shoulder of the road. "I was kidding, you don't have-"

"-I'm writing it down," he said and grabbed a pen and scrap paper from the blinder above his head, "I'm not saying this out loud. You have your quirks, and I, mine." He scribbled a few things down and held it in front of Heero's face.

Taking the 'too close' paper in hand, he began focusing on it. He read the message and it took a second to process. He looked at the words, back to Trowa and then back to the note again, "...I can see it. It comes with working in the circus, I guess."

"I sure wasn't interested in it beforehand." He pulled back on to the road and continued on.

"How do you know if you have an interest like that? Does it happen over time, or is there one situation that determines it?" Heero was becoming more at ease.

Trowa shrugged, "Mine was gradual. And I find it funny you and Relena ended up together as you did. It was the same way my friend and I spent the night."

"Drinking?" he said with little enthusiasm.

"Yeah," he said, "I was shy about asking until I had a few. It's commonplace now, and no longer a big deal. I also don't need to dirnk to get the 'nerve' anymore."

Heero didn't recall him mentioning anything before, "When was this?"

"Shortly before the beginning of the school year. She's moved on with her circus group, but we had a good time." He reminised about the night he had with her.

"Did you sleep with her?" He hoped the meaning of 'sleep' self explanatory in this context.

"We didn't have sex, but we did everything else," he said in a calm, causal way. "She said not to look at it as a night of 'what the hell were we thinking', rather to take it as an experience to move forward with."

Heero took that that piece of information down. Even if nothing came of he and Relena, he at least had the memory of being with her. "Funny."

"How so?" Trowa took note to the warm expression on his passenger's face.

"If Relena didn't come back to check on me I wouldn't have had these scratches, then I wouldn't have ended up at the school trying to get my mind off of it. Thus, I wouldn't have gotten to talk to you about it." Heero tried to follow the events in his head.

"I'm sure we'd have talked about it eventually," he laughed.

"I mean, I wouldn't have become comfortable with it, if not for today." He was referring to his life long streak of stoic, loner-ism. "Thanks." This was going to be a good tool to take along on his next outing with Relena. Which was going to be the award ceremony.

"Glad my nosy demeanor did some good," he smirked. "By the way, did you see my scarf? I lent it to Relena last night."

"It was so warm, why?"

"Neck."

"Right. No, I haven't seen it. I'll check behind the shelf the cup was on, it probably fell behind." Heero looked at the passing scenery in silence for a few minutes, "Don't tell Duo."

He nodded, "It's not my business to tell...but why not?" He figured Heero had a change of heart when it came to being open with his friends, why would any one of them be so different?

"I want to see how long it takes him to corner me about it. His freak outs are amusing," he said with a grin. They continued on for a time until they ran across a dirt road.

Trowa pulled up the dusty street and looked around, "Did you have plans next weekend?"

"No-" he said by default and caught himself, "Well..." Trowa looked right at him, or through him, Heero couldn't tell. "I...Relena asked me to go with her to some function."

"And you're going," he said, unaware if Heero would have taken it was a question or an order. He saw a nod. "That's good. Saturday, right? Do you know what time it's over?"

"I checked online, around nine. The banquette goes on until the doors close, but I don't think she cared to go to that part." Heero was curious as to where Trowa was going until the tent came into view. "The circus is here," he said.

"It's not my circus, but I'm helping out. I told them I had experience and they wanted me to come in for a few shows. Do you think you could get my notes for me this week?" He didn't want to lose out on work because of school, or the other way around.

"No problem," he said and got out of the car with Trowa. The circus was in the throws of setting up for the evening.

"I asked what you're doing because I had some free tickets. I'm giving them away to a few people. You should come after the show on Saturday, they're doing exhibits all night." The night was going to be filled with solo acts, stations doing independent performances and selling wears. Trowa shuffled he and Heero into a tent that was devoid of people. He rummaged through some things and emerged with an eight pack of beer.

"Again?" Heero asked in disbelief, "Is that really a good idea?" He was referring to the act of drinking two nights in a row.

"This is all I have, and I plan on sharing. Wufei wanted someone else to show off this 'amazing thing' to." He looped his arm around the beer and grabbed a cigarette tin from the shelf.

"Amazing? He doesn't usually get so excited." Heero felt the whole weekend was going to be full of surprises.

After unloading the drinkables in the back of the car, they got to work for the day. Earning extra money in any way was a bonus. Especially if that money was under the table, meaning, not on record anywhere, rendering it un-taxable.

The manual labour was intense. "Just take it off," Trowa suggested to Heero, who's shirt was dripping wet.

Since the scratches were going to stay, so was his top. "I'm fine," he said and drug a forearm across his forehead. Again, Heero was faced with something that wouldn't have ever happened, had the day not played out _exactly_ as it did.

Passing between he and Trowa was a man with scratches, scars and, from the looks of it, intentional cigarette burns littering his back. One of them looked like a fresh wound, possiblly from a few days ago. "Coming through," he said and led a few horses by.

When he was out of ear shot, "...you win," Heero said and removed his tank top to continue the day's work. By day's end, he had been complimented on his markings by the same man who unintentionally inspired him to be more open about it.

Chuck, as he called himseld, said that women got more vicious as they got older and eventually switched to equipment. "She spends hundreds on her nails. Be damned if she broke one of'em on my hide." Chuck said with a slap on Heero's back. He had been warned, but it was positioned to sound more like he should be looking forward to it.

"I can't picture Relena as a 'dom'," Trowa stroked his chin as he tried to picture it.

"Don't," was all Heero said.

"Protective much?" He chuckled.

"No...now I'm picturing it. Thanks," he said ruthfully and reached for his phone.

"Are you going to ask her to dress up," he asked with a grin, considering the statement he just made.

"I don't think she'd go for that. Hang on." He dialed her up and let it ring.

"No stress," he comforted his friend and folded his arms to wait for him to be done.

"Right..." he said and waited.

'Hello?' came Relena from the other side.

"Hey, you busy?"

'No,' she said and made some rustling noises. There was background chatter.

Now he was stressed, she had friends in the room. He assumed so because she silenced them without saying she was on the phone, likely to get him to act candidly, "After the show on Saturday, would you like to go somewhere else?"

'Certainly. Did you have something in mind?' she said with stifled giggling.

"Trowa had extra tickets to 'Circ de Soleil', he suggested we go." It wasn't often that a Canadian circus visited Japan, so it was a rare treat to go see it. Trowa held up a poster with the date, and pointed to it for Heero to take note. "It's only here until next weekend, so this'll be their last show."

'I'll have to change when I get there. Is that okay?' she asked.

"I don't see why not." He shrugged, as if she could see him.

'Sounds fun, it's a date. I'll see you in school on Monday,' she said.

"Alright," he said and flipped his phone shut.

"I heard that," Trowa said with a smile, "It's a date," he quoted her.

Heero huffed, "This is what I get for opening up to you people." He shoved the phone back in his pocket and they made their way back into town to visit Wufei.

* * *

Hehe, it's a date. lulz


	9. Chapter 9: Repeat

Every good high school drama has to have that scene, where one friend gets too drunk and all the other friends have to ban together to help them.

It's in every story...because it's in everyone's life at one point or another. I've been in both positions, helper(many) and hinderer(many more). Let's see where this takes us.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Repeat**

* * *

Peeling one's skin from a rough surface wasn't fun, but it had to be done. Duo rose from his nap to the sound of the doorbell. It was shortly past nine and he had long since come down and was able to move again. Opening the door revealed Heero and Trowa. "What are you two doing here?"

Before anyone could answer, "Come and see," Wufei said from behind his new roommate.

They were in awe, "What happened here?" Heero asked and looked around. He'd been in there only a couple times before, this was the neatest it had been. Was Wufei having trouble with housekeeping? It didn't look so bad from what he recalled. Not that it mattered, it was apparently no longer an issue.

"Heh, 'Duo' happened," he said and showed off the rooms, "There's a floor and a hallway; and I can see the stairs," he said, sounding as if it was something he was unaware of.

"You're right, this _is_ amazing," Trowa laid the drinks on the table and broke the loops to serve them. He'd seen the place a bit more in depth than the others; this was a solid improvement, that deserved a drink.

"Isn't it? Oh, thanks," Wufei said as he took a beer from Trowa. He and his guests took up residence in the tidy living room.

"When you don't own anything it's easy to tell people to clean up," Duo said with a yawn. "I'm sure my own apartment won't look like this." They cracked a few beer, even Duo, despite better judgment. "Where's Quatre tonight," he asked and took a swig of his frothy can.

"We ran into him on the way here, he had other things to do," Trowa said.

"I bet," Duo remarked, remembering the story of the 'new employee'.

"He misses home too much." Wufei was squeezing a cork screw into the top of a sake bottle.

"It's new to him, he's not used to being on his own," Trowa defended him, "I bet we can see _his_ floor."

"My mess worked for me," he said and finally won the fight with the cork. He didn't bother with a cup and drank from the bottle.

"Can I?" Heero tapped the top of his beer can and held out a hand for the sake bottle. Wufei handed it to him. "I don't think I own enough to make a mess with." As he did the previous night, he spiked his can with the other alcohol. He had to go slow because the big bottle was hard to maneuver over the tiny can.

"Same here," Duo said. "When you look at your house, think of it as 'code'. Sure, it'll work even if it's all over the place, but just imagine how good it'll look properly spaced and oragnized. You can actually say 'I know where this is' when you look at your stuff."

"I knew where my things were; they were all over the place."

"Okay, what if someone wanted to find something for you," Duo continued the otherwise pointless argument. "They wouldn't be able to find it."

Wufei continued, "What if someone broke in? They wouldn't be able to find anything either."

"I can't believe you're trying to justify a mess," Heero shook his head and handed the bottle back. He had filled his can past the top and needed to siphon some off with a sip.

"I'm not." He was only being difficult. "Truly, I'm grateful. Thanks again, Duo. Change is hard I guess." And here he had bashed Quatre's complex, when he had plenty of his own to contend with. It seemed he was able to point his judgment at everybody but himself. But Wufei had been 'dipping in' before anyone even showed up, so his brain function was down from the get-go.

"Damn right," Duo said and quickly moved the topic elsewhere.

Wherever 'elsewhere' was, it was after midnight before any of them questioned the time. "Are there any beer left?" Duo asked, leaning over the end of the couch, his arm trailing to the floor at it's side.

"There's one," Trowa said from the kitchen.

"Did you try it with sake?" Heero asked. He looked like he was enjoying himself, which was rare. "Get three glasses," he said and stood up, wobbly.

"Why not four?" Trowa looked back in the living room to see Heero stealthily pulling the large sake bottle form Wufei's cold, dead, unconsciousness. "I see," he said and brought back three cups.

"It's like first year chemistry all over again." Feeling nostaligic, Heero smiled and began pouring equal parts of beer in all three cups. He topped them off with a few shots of the rice wine each. "Bottom's up," he said and had a cheers with his friends. It was good, the bitterness of both canceled eachother out.

Halfway done the drink Duo smiled wide, "Drunk dialing," he declared and held his phone up in the air.

"N-no," Heero tried to take it from him and failed, for Duo had shimmied to the side. Apparently three dimensional movement was impossible for him to navigate with a bunch of beer and sake. Heero gave up trying to stop him after that first valiant attempt.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm'a'callin' Quatre," he said and attempted to dial, several times, failing. This went on until Duo remember he had him in his phone book, "And...speed dial." He said, calling his number. It rang. "I got this."

"He's in bed," Heero said, still half slouched over on his side.

"There can't possibly be anything you want to talk about right now." Trowa was fairing the best out of all of them. Pacing was a learned behaviour, but his practice was what was paying off.

"Nothing I-" he began when someone picked up.

'_-Hello_?' a girls voice came over the line.

"...Hellooo~," Duo said with a smile that measured a mile, "Hey sweetie, do you know where Quatre is?" He said it that way, so the other two knew it wasn't Quatre who picked up. Though Heero was chortling because for a second, he thought Duo called Quatre a pet name.

'_He's busy at the moment, is there a message_?' she sounded so sweet.

"Busy? It's the middle of the night, isn't he asleep?" Duo was confused.

'_Y-yes, asleep_,' she said.

"...who is this?" he asked.

'_I'm Naibun, one of the housekeepers. Can I ask who's calling_?' she said, getting flustered.

"This is Duo, come on, put him on," he was getting whiny. He noted Trowa lowering a hand, palm down, to stabilize him.

'_Duo? You're one of his friends, right? Could you just...come over here_?' she said suddenly.

"Oh, what's going on?" His countenance faded into something more serious, drawing the attention of the other two. "Something up?"

'_No...not really...is it possible for you to make it over? If not...I'm going to have to call my boss for help_,' she said with regret, sounding almost on the verge of tears.

Now, Duo could hear tears from miles away, even through the phone. He knew something was wrong. "Naibun, hun, are you safe?" he was good at sweet talking the ladies.

'_I am_.'

"Is Quatre safe?"

'_He is_,' she said with doubt.

These questions went on for a few more minutes until they agreed to go out and see him. The last thing they wanted to do was walk into an ambush. Their years as mercenaries hadn't left them without certain idiosyncrasies, it was best to know everything before diving into any situation.

"We're not going to do him any good," Heero was attempting to get his coat on, but the second half of the garment kept evading him. He slowly ended up making one full rotation. Trowa pinched his collar to steady the coat so it slipped on right away.

"I can't look the other way with a girl in distress. Especially one who's wearing a uniform and a corset!" They wondered how he heard that from over the phone. Duo pointed a finger at Trowa and lost his momentum, "You...can't drive, dammit...we walk!" he pointed that same finger in the air.

"That'll take all night. I called a cab," Trowa said and put his phone away, for he was done dialing.

"That's good too, let's go wait outside. Wufei?" he said loudly. "...Yo! Wufei!" He shook him, with no luck. "I know," he wandered into the kitchen and began to fold a piece of loose paper into something. It looked like he was going to leave him a note but instead, popped out with a 'popper'. He took the small folded triangle and held it above his head, "Wufei!" and he swiped it downward. The air got caught within the folds of the paper and made it open up with a really loud 'pop' noise. "Nothing? I've done all I can do here, let's go." He tossed the paper on the table next to him.

Heero scribbled a note on Duo's paper and left it on Wufei's head, as a hat. "I'm sure he'll see it," he said and left his message to balance, carefully adjusting it a few times to make sure it stayed. He remained straight faced the whole time; his dead-pan made it even funnier. The other two couldn't help but laugh.

Trowa took a picture with his phone, "He'll enjoy that." Trowa sat down with Heero near the road while Duo locked up.

As the lock turned he realized that he didn't finish his drink. "I forgot my beer...do I go back for it?"

"You don't need it," Trowa said and extended a cigarette and lighter to him, "Keep your hands busy."

"Why the hell not," he said and lit up, holding it differently than Trowa.

"What are you doing?" Trowa asked.

"Smoking?" he said, unsure if that was the right answer anymore.

"...that's not how you hold it," he said with a snicker.

"What's the difference?" He looked at the burning stick pinched between his thumb and index finger.

Heero shook his head as he caught a glimpse of Duo's hand, "You're holding it like a joint."

They were expecting Duo to be all up in arms, but he took the information in stride. "The things you learn," he said and placed the smoke between the index and middle fingers. "..." He took a drag on it with the new position and exhaled saying, "Doesn't feel right," and immediately switched back to 'his way'.

When they got to Quatre's it was dead quiet, all but for a single television on in his bedroom. "I texted Naibun, she'll be here any second," Trowa put his phone away.

"Thank the heavens," Naibun said as she appeared. A brief introduction ensued. "Maybe you guys can talk to him," she said and lead them to where Quatre was. He wasn't in his room, he was in the washroom nearest the wine cellar. "I got him out of the bar," that was in the house, "but then he locked himself in the bathroom. I got the door open, but I couldn't pull the bottle away..." The girl in the corset, which didn't go unnoticed, opened the door to reveal Quatre hugging the bowl. The guy was barely awake with a bottle wedged in the crook of his arm. He looked similar to Wufei with his sake.

"Is there a curse following us or something?" Duo's eyes went wide, "I guess you didn't want to say anything because of this," he said and knelt next to his downed comrade.

She poked her index fingers together lightly, "This isn't what I needed help with...I need help cleaning."

"Clean? It's the middle of the night," Heero remarked, annoyed with this girls inability to function at a normal time of the day.

"Normally that's the case," she inhaled as she spoke. She looked up to Trowa, "You seem sober enough," she could tell they had all been 'into it' that night, "Could you help me?"

"Sure, with what?" Trowa asked.

Naibun nodded, "I need to flip the mattress. Could you two stay here and keep him company?" She looked to Duo and Heero.

"You do what you have to," Duo said and scooched closer to rub Quatre's back.

"Thank you so much. This way," she said and left with Trowa.

"Did you spill your wine?" Duo said with a snicker.

"Mmm-no," said the blond one, "Sick."

"In bed?" Heero said as he slowly slid to the floor near the tub. "That's rough. Don't you have another bed to sleep on?" He was going to sit on the edge of the tub, but he didn't trust his balance at the moment.

"I did...got sick there too. Naibun must be so angry. I'm sorry guys...wasn't thinking," he was sounding regretful.

"Didn't look mad to me, she was worried," Duo assured him. "Did you know she goes to school with us?" He saw Quatre slowly shake his head. "I knew I recognized the name, Naibun. She's on the swim team. I bet she got a job here so she could get to know you."

"A lot of good that's doing. I wouldn't blame her if she quit tomorrow," he said and closed the lid to rest his head on it.

Heero chimed in, "I doubt it. She seems like the type to like the whole 'hurt-comfort' aspect of this situation." For someone who was intoxicated, he was quite affluent with his diagnosis. "She probably feels really powerful and in charge right now. She was so meek when she answered the door, I bet being in control is a good feeling." Not an ounce of transference from Relena, he swore, in his head.

"Yeah," Duo said, "Imagine how she'll feel if you give her that bottle?"

Quatre looked at the neck of the bottle he _refused_ to let go of, and sighed. "Yeah~" he handed the bottle to the one closest to him. "I'm sorry."

"No prob buddy," Duo went to take a drink, but paused, "I'm...not in the mood to drink right now. Odd, thought I was."

"I didn't mean to ruin your night, I'm sorry," Quatre repeated himself.

"No, no, it's not you. It's just, right now kind of feels like looking into a freaky, accurate, mirror of last night." He heard a cough from behind him, "Please don't make it a two way mirror," Duo squinted, hoping not to get hit with anything undesirable.

"I'm good," Heero said and turned the tub's tap on.

"I _believe_ you," Duo said sarcastically. "How come you drank so much?"

"I didn't drink that much," he _denied_ it.

"Really?" he said, mimicking him from the night before.

"Yeah, I just drank it too quickly. I have no clue why." Quatre was thinking about the girl he saw on the bus when he downed the booze. Remembering the confusion his panic attack caused made the drink slip down easily. Had he been so sheltered he couldn't deal with the basic stresses of real life?

"You going to be okay Heero?" Duo asked, now hearing more than coughing from behind him. He was sure to give his other friend a pat on the back too. Heero tried apologizing but Duo dismissed his concern with, "You put up with my ass, it's the least I can do. Be right back." When he was sure he they were going to be alright for a minute, he got up and left the room. He quickly located Trowa and Naibun who were placing the final sheet on the now tidied bed. "Guess what?" he said and laid the nearly empty wine bottle down. "We've got _two_ of 'em now. On on the toilet, one in the tub."

Naibun let out a low frustrated growl. With a hand over her face, acting as an ineffective censor, "Fuck my life," she said, effectively, stunning her two helpers. Were those some true colors shining though?

Not wanting to chance having to do more work than necessary, she stuck them both in Quatre's room. The argument that ensued for who got the left side of the bed was annoying. "I want the left." Quatre began.

"_I _want the left."

"My house."

"I'm your guest."

"_I_ didn't invite you."

"Damned if I come over to help again."

"Bah, you call that helping?"

"I said I was sorry!"

"My god, would you two cut it out? Sleep head-toe!" Duo said, getting the drunken palaver out of one of his ears. With Naibun in the center, Trowa and Duo on either end, they carried their friends under the arms to relocated everyone to another room. Sleeping head-toe, with bucket in either corner, they brushed their hands clean for the evening. The three of them split the last mouthfulls of wine and went to bed before the sun came up.

* * *

After we check on Relena I'll be moving right along. I won't drag this day out any longer than that. XD


	10. Chapter 10: Half Truth

Now the drama begins. XD  
Muhahahahahahaaaa*coughhackcouch*!

Thank you to my reviewers! You make it worth while. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 10: Half Truth**

* * *

Relena was used to being toted around in a fancy car, this was much different. Her hybrid and limousine service put together didn't make as much noise as the Lincoln Continental the cabby had. She was feeling refreshed that morning as she left the dorm; even if she was out some money because of the 'great destroyer'. Duo's antics ended up costing her twenty-five dollars; she was contemplating adding it to his account at the school, as a lesson, but decided against it in the end. She was the one who enabled him to begin with.

She recalled carrying him down the stairs and how she took note of his weight. In comparison to Heero, he was light as a feather; even Quatre felt heavier than he did. Duo was so slender she could have mounted him on her shoulders and carried him out fireman style. She made a quick call to the dormitory to see if there were any vacancies, but they were full up. She then called Wufei, knowing Duo was going to be there all week, to ask if he could stay longer.

'_What's in it for me_?' he asked.

"Couldn't you just help your friend out?" she was getting annoyed at his selfish attitude. This, along with the previous night, was another strike against him. She knew they all had debt, but this was plain cold.

Wufei chuckled, '_It's not that I mind, I just know you can pull some strings. Ask and you shall receive; that's government policy, right_?'

Relena sighed, "If he were paying you board, how much would you charge?" She took a notebook from her evening bag and flipped it open to scribble the figures down.

'_For a living room couch? I'd say a hundred a month_,' he sounded like he sincerely considered the value of his floor space.

"Alright. I'll credit it to you once every-"

'_All at once_.' Wufei interrupted her.

"...do I have a choice?" she said with annoyance.

'_Of course you do_,' he sounded in control of the situation, '_And so does Duo_.'

"...all at once, then." She reluctantly wrote that down.

'_If you're willing to make it one-fifty per month, I'll give him my office_.' He was bartering with his friend's livelihood; Wufei had every intention of letting Duo stay free of charge for as long as he wanted, but she didn't need to know that. He wanted freebies.

"Done."

'_Perfect_.'

"You do love to haggle."

'_Indeed_.'

"I'll have it on your account by the end of the day. Will that be everything, your majesty?" She wasn't normally so catty, but his attitude was totally uncalled for. She now had a mild headache, it's name: Wufei.

'_You can drop off my scarf_,' he said with a smirk that could be heard.

"For what I paid, be thankful I'm not keeping it! You'll get it at the end of the week!" She ended the call, angrily pressing the the hang up button; a far cry from slamming it down, but it would have to do. It was a rage that quickly faded when the car hit a bump. She discovered that the vehicle didn't have decent shock absorbers. Relena's sensitive side was feeling tender against the hardened seat of the cab. Her mind wandered back to Heero. What would become of them on the following weekend? It was all that went through her head for the remainder of the drive.

When she arrived back home a few of her friends were there waiting for her. Relena had forgotten about the plans she made with them for that day. It was only tea and possibly some baking, but it was still a commitment. They didn't look to be in the best of spirits, most likely still tired from the party the night before. "You girls seem down." Relena noted and made her way to them.

Delicately tucking a strand of short blond hair behind her ear, she gave a worried look. It was shared by the others. "Good morning, Relena. I hate to dump this on you fist thing in the morning, but-I want to start of by saying that 'none' of us believe it, we would never think badly of you."

She raised an eyebrow, it was quite the strange greeting. "What do you mean?"

"We thought you should know a rumor that got started last night. It's managed to grow since then. We know it can't be true, but we really wanted to talk to you ourselves, to prepare for anything that may get thrown our way. We're all in this together, don't forget that."

"You've got me worried girls. Please tell me what happened, I'm sure we can work out the details."

The representative friend suggested they move to the veranda. It would give them some privacy away from her mother and the various other house staff. "You left with Heero last night, right?"

"Yes," she said. Relena assumed that they were talking about the hickey on her neck, now covered by her hair. She kept it up in a 'do' for the banquette, exposing her neck line. It had been let down in the cab. They probably noticed it before she spoke with Wufei.

"And Duo?" she continued.

Relena began feeling uneasy, "That's right. I took him to a friend's house."

"Then Quatre..." she said and wrung her hands nervously as she saw Relena nod, "And then Wufei, at the end of the night."

"I don't understand the implication," she was trying to make sense of this supposed 'rumor'.

"It went around that you '_got with_' four out of the five gundam boys." This made Relena gasp. "Like I said, we know it's not true." The friends had already defaced the graffito in the hall's bathroom saying Rx4/5, and didn't even bother to tell her about it.

"Then why bring it up?" she was baffled by this new turn of events. She actually did spend the night with one of them, and only one. Now she was unsure if she should say anything about her evening, fearing it too may get blown out of proportion.

"We knew it was going to get mentioned on Monday and figured it best to prepare you for that. Plus, I got a text a little while ago saying someone saw you leaving the dormitory this morning...so..." She began to go through her phone for a message, dancing around the 'meat' of the rumor.

"I was making sure Heero was doing alright," she said and tried to think of who would have said such a thing.

The other girls nodded. One chimed in, "He was looking pretty dizzy at the party. We assumed you were taking him home and didn't think anything else of it."

Finally locating the tidbit of information on her phone, she said, "I believe it got cemented a short while ago. Here," she said. Pressing a final button, she handed it off to Relena.

The text in question read 'Think she's so straight edge? Just saw her leaving Yuy's room!', this was followed by a winking smiley emoticon. "Well then..." Relena was furious because she even made a point to check the hallway before she left. It gave the impression someone was snooping on her.

"This came from Ted. We don't usually talk, so it was weird to hear that from _him,_" she said. He was a student who resided across the hall from Heero.

Relena didn't want to lie to her friends. "I took Heero, Duo and then Quatre home because they had gone a little overboard. After the party was done, I took Wufei home and went back to check on Heero...who was awake...so I stuck around." It looked like if she were to clear her name, she would have to be honest about it.

The girls began to crowd closer, leaning in, "What?" a few said in a hush.

"Is that were you were earlier?" the girl with the freckles asked, glossy eyed with anticipation.

"This text is...true then?" the blond friend covered her mouth with four fingers only.

She could no longer fight the smirk, it was quite noticeable. "Yes." She told them about how Heror's drink got spiked and that he was fine a few hours later. "When I dropped Quatre off, I went to see how he was doing. We talked for a time, he was really..." she twirled a strand of her hair around a finger, unable to bring herself to say anything. "I-I don't see why I'm not allowed to have an intimate relationship with anyone."

"You can," she said, "Just not for money."

"Excuse me?" she said.

"Yeah, they also said you bedded all four of them for cash," the meat of the rumor was particularly _meaty_, "When you spoke with Wufei, someone saw him hand you money for it," another friend said.

"Why would I need money? That's absurd!" She threw her hands in the air, astounded that people would believe anything. "This is why I go to a private school, to avoid drama like this." She folded her arms in frustration, one hand lightly brushing her purse. She reached in briefly to grab her flask so she could take an angry shot from it, but it was gone. It occurred to her that she may have left it on Heero's shelf. Though now she was debating if going back for it was a good idea, what with the rumors flying. Whoever it was, really went out of their way to be elaborate. She laughed, sitting back in her wicker chair. "The audacity."

"I guess this is what we get for inviting students from other schools," the blond girl said. The function that went on was only for their school, but people could bring a significant other, even if they attended a different school. Common students mixing with the high rollers seemed to breed jealousy and start nonsense.

"They're making it up," Relena said. It was true, she did leave the dorm that morning, but they had no way of knowing unless they had access to the school's security camera's or saw her going in at one in the morning. Again, she was sure to stay out of sight then too. '_Could they have heard anything through the walls_,' she thought.

"We thought you should know because it may come up on Monday. You should prepare a verbal lashing for anyone who tries to say anything different." Her friends smiled at her, they were some of the best supports she could ask for.

Pagan in passing dropped tea off for all of them. "Thank you. I must confess," she said and drew them closer, avoiding prying ears, "I know that whoever sent that is lying, because no one saw me leave Heero's room this morning...I checked the hall before I left," Relena said and sipped her tea.

They gasped, "No way. You _actually_ spent the night?" one said.

"You're pulling our leg," the girl with the freckles held both hands over her mouth in shock.

"That's correct. And while I was getting ready this morning, I asked him to come with me to the awards next weekend. We're even going to Circ de Soleil afterward." She sounded proud that she finally roped him in to going somewhere with her.

"And here we were, getting all in a tizzy thinking you two might have kissed...but that," the first friend giggled, "Who made the first move?"

"Are you two going steady?" said another.

"More importantly, did you go all the way with him?" said a third.

Another friend held her hands up at chest height, "Even _more_ important than that!" Palms facing in, she began sizing something up, "How big?" asked freckles.

They laughed. "I don't kiss and tell. Let's just say, I'm looking forward to next weekend." She took a long drink of her tea, "-and spending all that time in the announcer's box with him...alone." This made her friends giggle uncontrollably. "I guess I can tell a little."

Relena let them in on some of the lesser details of her night, but it was still enough to get one of the girls to fan herself with a hand. Showing off the trophy on her neck earned some overzealous applause too.

"Are you planning on sleeping with him?" freckles asked.

"You should think of your reputation. Is that such a good idea?" the blond friend said.

"You say that as if Heero's the kind to brag," Relena defended him. Sadly the hypocrisy slipped on by.

"True. But that's not the biggest worry: What if the rubber breaks?" a fourth friend added.

Relena halted her thought process, "I suppose that is a rather valid concern."

"Don't worry," said the fifth friend, "If you use it properly, it won't break."

"What if I don't know how to use one at all?" Relena was hoping to leave the mechanics of the contraceptive to Heero. It was then she figured, he may know as little as she did. The friends spent the rest of the morning plotting a course of action for Relena to follow. The final chunk of the day was spent trying to discover who started the rumor; _they_ needed to be dealt with. There would be no sweets made that day.

With no success, only finding the 'he said-she said' people of the rumor, they gave up until Monday. Whoever it was definitely didn't go to their school. The girls chalked it up to one of the students from another acadamy trying to make waves. They all decided it would blow over and let it go.

At least, they tried to let it go. When Relena arrived at school on Monday, she received some odd greetings. It wasn't too long before her same friends came running down the hall. "Relena, you need to get in here!" Her tall blond friend shut them in the conference room to talk.

She saw one of her friends crying into a small tissue in the corner, "What's wrong?" she immediately thought her friend was in danger and went to comfort her.

"Oh, Relena, I can't believe someone would do this! It's inexcusable!" she said while wiping her face dry. "I'm so angry, I don't know what to do with myself."

"Is it because of that rumor?" she said with a smile. She figure the rumor they tried to stifle, remained un-stifled. "I'll manage." Relena was hoping it hadn't grow again, overnight.

"You don't understand how bad it's gotten," she said and reached to the table beside her. There was a slim, independently bound book beneath a cloth; it was too much to see the cover of. "Here," she said and held it up.

"What? Did they release it in the school paper or something? I never took this sort of thing to be front page...news..." It was a comic. She glared at the front. It was a sketch, painted over with basic watercolors. The two people on the front looked strikingly familiar. "..." She opened the book and looked at the first few pages. "This is the ball, from last night..." She went on. Her friends had already tried to make sense of it all, they had no luck. "The guy in the suit...me talking to Duo...the pool game...and...that part didn't happen." It followed her night up until she played pool with Heero. Afterward, it spiraled into a lusty 'forbidden love' scenario atop the surface they had been playing on.

Finally getting through the whole thing, with haste, jaw ajar she still managed to ask, "Who made this?" Whoever it was, they had access to the billiard room security camera, not just the dorm's cameras. They got all of the motions correct, right up until Heero sat her on the pool table. After that, it was purely a work of fiction. Very, very graphic fiction. There was even a scene with Heero doing something unspeakable(impossible) with a pool cue.

"We have no idea! No one we know draws in this fashion. It must have come from another school." Her blond friend took the book and flipped it to the back. "We can tell it was done out of malice, no one's taking credit for it." She showed that there was no signature or date.

"The other interesting thing is this-I'm sorry...I have to open the book again." Freckles took the book in hand and showed her two of the pages in question. "These two," she said and flipped to another page toward the back, one with a particularly naughty pose on it. She blushed, "This one. And finally, this one," she said and turned to the back pages. "The style shifts every few pages."

Relena lowered her stare, deep in thought. "That could mean there's more than one person who was working on this." She had dealt with rumors many times before, having the kind of connections she did made it really easy to get to the bottom of them. This was different. If this person, or people, went to a different school, it was going to put a crimp in her investigation. It would also be putting a 'crimp' in Heero's day. She knew how he felt about the whole 'public affection' thing and hoped he was faring better than she was.

Heero was out front, only just showing up, as Relena was being told all this. A girl from their school ran up to him, "Excuese me?" she said. "Are these yours?" Her arms extended a large brown paper bag to him.

"Hmm?" he opened the bag with Duo staring over his shoulder. "I think so." It was his tie and coat from the party. "Thank you. Where'd you find this?"

"Someone told me to give it to you, sorry, I don't know who they were." And she was off.

"Strange," he said and emptied the bag. Upon closer inspection there was a note taped to the bottom, typed, not written. "...I see." The note taunted him and told him not to leave his clothes in the billiard room. He tried to let it go, a feat that was successful until a passing teacher inquired about the homemade book; he was meerly confused and expressing his concern. He didn't seem too rattled by the occurance.

Heero was done with the nonsense; an invasion of privacy of that caliber wasn't going to be without punishment. He was off, confident he could have this handled before the day was done.

"Want me to hack into the system and check emails? I might be able to track them down," Duo suggested. He was having a hard time keeping up with Heero's enraged stride. What could he possibly have in mind?

"I've got an idea. I'll need your help though." He had a feeling the day wasn't going to end well for someone; as soon as he got his hands on them, that is.

* * *

:3 nya


	11. Chapter 11: Lock Down

Ehh, heh. Sorry it took so long for the update; my wrist is riddled with CPS and it hurts like a biz-natch to type. Kind of looks like there's a walnut trapped inside my wrist and it clicks/ginrds whenever I move it. It's bad, wanna hear? *rotates wrist for you and it sounds like a cement mixer* See, gross huh?

Ooh, maybe I can use this pain to augment my story...hmm, ideas...so many of them, yet so few anti-inflammatories to bring the swelling back down.

On with the show! (btwalliterationftw)

* * *

**Chapter 11: Lock Down**

* * *

What was supposed to be a bright and clean Monday morning, turned out to be too turbulent to traverse. Not even five minutes at the school and he was bombarded with drama; the weekend headache had metamorphosized, blossoming into a pain in his ass. Without a moment's hesitation, he went straight to the office. "I know there's nothing _you_ can do," Heero spoke to the principal, Duo at his side, "Allow me to deal with it."

"Mr. Yuy, you know I can't give you the authority to do anything drastic." The stout, older woman looked regretful. "Couldn't you wait until it blows over?"

He refused the notion. "Not even. An invasion of privacy at this level isn't something I'm willing to let slide." He had to choose his words carefully. "I have a reputation that's being hindered, I'll have to transfer if it's not taken care of." He knew this was a sensitive subject for the woman in charge, and Heero's credentials were nothing to stick her nose up at.

"And hey! If you leave, I can take your place in the dorm," Duo sounded like he was playing along nicely.

"That's true," Heero said with a smirk, "How's that sound? You want a hacker of his level in your midst, twenty-four-seven?"

She shut her eyes, glasses slipping down the to the tip of her nose, "I can't allow anything to endanger my students," she said and looked at him over the rims of her bifocals.

"I understand," he said as though his antics had gotten him what he needed. He was correct.

She began shuffling through her desk, eventually palming an item to her lap. "That's good. I'm sure you two will be fine on your own," she said and got up to leave her office. Something hit the floor behind the desk, she chose to ignore it. "If you'll excuse me," the older one said and left them standing there.

Scooping up the 'lost' set of keys, they made their way to necessary room. Their goal was the server, powerhouse of the school. "You're evil. I hope you know that," Duo commented on Heero's manipulative behaviour as he shouldered the heavy door open.

"And here I thought you knew me." His smile was wiry and his tone was flat, he was enjoying this in some small way. They got to work.

It took under an hour for Duo to hack through the security grid and take full control of the school. From the locks on the front doors, to the temperature of the heat lamps in the cafeteria, he had it all at his fingertips. "We should wait until more people get here."

Heero nodded, "Right. Turn off the bell, too."

Duo clicked away at the keyboard. Ten minutes past bell time was when he flipped the switch to lock every door in the building. "Aaaaand there," he said and hit one final button to set the plan in motion. Be it a door to a classroom or the outside world, if it was closed, it was locked. No one was getting anywhere until this issue was laid to rest. "The fear of god doesn't work on everyone. Are you sure this is going to have any effect?"

"Don't worry," he smirked, "Get me the mic." He was going to put an end to it.

A few more keystrokes and he was able to get on the air. "Do you need me to mask your voice?" Duo asked as he passed the microphone off.

"Oh no, they're going to know who it is." As he turned the device on, a high pitch shrill filled the building for a few fleeting seconds. "Attention, students and staff. This is Heero Yuy," was how he chose to begin.

Relena sat in the front row of her classroom as this went on. "Please Heero," she said to herself, "Don't say anything you'll regret." It looked like she was right, the rumor had perturbed him somewhat.

His announcement went on, "When I arrived this morning, I discovered someone had gone out of their way to create a slanderous art piece. I'm not going into details, if you're involved you know what I'm referring to." He could see Duo trying to stifle his laughter as he typed; Heero's language was so proper on the subject it sounded hilarious to him. "Though I dislike terrorism, I have no problem fighting fire with fire. This school will remain sealed until someone comes forward. Use the intercom in your class to contact the principal's office because, as of right now, you can no longer leave the room you're in. That is all." He cut the mic.

Duo nodded, his bottom lip curled slightly, "Evil."

"Only slightly," he said and lounged back in a chair.

When a half hour was reached, Duo came out with another mode of incentive. "Try this," and held up a note for his partner to read, "This might get their attention."

Heero read the whole note and got back on the mic to read his lines. "Nothing yet? I'll give you people another half hour to decide what's more important, your drama or your notes." This gave Duo the cue; with pleasure, he hit a single button and a split second later, the same button. This caused every sprinkler in the whole school to release a quick burst of water. They could hear the collective screams of the students through the walls. The hacker cackled and gave a victory spin in his chair; there was no way Heero was going to beat him at his own game.

An hour had passed since it all began and so far, no one said _a thing_. The student body was in an uproar over the whole ordeal. Slightly dampened, they furiously texted one another, trying to track down the perpetrator. No one was willing to waste any of their work. Fortunately for them, the principal was on their side and monitored the duo's every move. She did nothing to hinder the two; the 'finer details' of the rumor led her to make such a choice.

"Alright," Heero's voice came over the intercom a third time. "Time to up the ante one final time. If I haven't received penance, I'll start bringing the collective average of the school down student by student. Don't worry though, I won't give anyone a failing grade. This change will be so small, you won't even notice the points missing...I bet college might though..." he paused, letting that cold fact sink in. When it came to the top of the class, every point mattered. It was the difference between community college and a seat at an ivy league level university. "...Consider this your ten minute warning." He cut the mic again, having effectively trumped Duo's malevolent tatic.

Duo nodded his head, "Pure evil," he said and accessed the school registry. "Did you ever think that no one knows anything?"

"If that were the case, it wouldn't have circulated in less than two days. Remember, Relena's a politician, these kind of smear campaigns happen all the time." Heero refused to back down. He didn't feel like it was a personal attack on his part, he only found it relatively annoying; it was Relena's involvement got his blood boiling.

"Let me guess, we're the ones who'll 'swoop in' and 'crack down'?" he motioned his fists as if to slowly demonstrate punches.

"Simply put." As if it were magic, someone came forward at the last possible moment. They met in the main office, principal absent.

She confessed, "They paid me a lot of money to do the watercolors, but I didn't draw it. There weren't even words in the speech bubbles when they gave it to me! I'm sorry," she said though forming tears, "Please don't touch anyone's marks."

The softer of the two sighed, "Come on, you gotta' let her go." He couldn't stand the sight of her crying. He could also relate to her; money was hard to come by for anyone. he assumed it was her reason for taking a job that 'riskay'.

"You aren't the one who did anything wrong. So long as you tell me who paid you, you're free to go," was Heero's only stipulation.

"I don't know exactly. The group that did the line art went through someone else to commission me." She was then adding all the interactions she had with the commissionaire togethe; looking back, she knew it was fishy from the start. If only the money hadn't been so tempting. "They go to school at west side academy. That's all I know." She was holding her elbows and shaking, for she knew who she was talking to and what he was capable of.

"Thank you," he said and turned to his accomplice, "Want to help me do some hunting?" He turned around to see a blank space where his friend once was. He was now leading the girl out of the room.

He was spouting various words of comfort and had an arm around her shoulder. Duo waved at Heero behind them, "How about after lunch?" they heard a hand gun cock and froze in their tracks, "Or now."

The girl took off, "Another time I guess," she said as she hurried away.

Heero lowered his empty firearm and nodded, "I thought so."

Duo lowered his emptied arm and huffed. "I help out, and this is the thanks I get," he said and shoved his hands in the pockets of his uniform, "Lame."

They rustled Quatre from class and caught him up on the initial plan. They followed Heero out of the school. He was shocked to say the least. "I can't believe someone would do that," he said as the three walked in the direction of the accused school.

Heero's undistinguishable facial expression left them to believe he was somwhere between worry and deep seeded thought; his default state of being. "I doubt it was meant for me," he admitted and continued on.

"Makes sense. Your reputation, right now, doesn't effect your career; it wouldn't make sense to attack you." Quatre had been informed on the content of the comic and he seemed to be on the same page as Heero. This attack wasn't meant to harm him. "I wonder if Relena knows how far you're going out of the way for her?"

Duo smirked. "Me too," he said with sly eyes, "Kind of makes you wonder how much of that comic is true. What did happen after you two left?"

"Duo, the point of this mission is to keep people out of my personal life." Heero was annoyed that he had to deal with this kind of questioning at school. Trowa was bad enough, and Heero wasn't even expecting that from him either. Adding these two into the 'know' made it all the more annoying.

Duo laced his fingers and let them rest beneath his braid, on the back of his neck. "When are you going to let people in? You're no fun."

"Not true. I'm taking you to a public school facility to infiltrate their security and potentially maim a few of their pupils. I'd like to think I'm at least entertaining," he scoffed at the idea that he was 'un-fun'.

"Fair enough," Duo submitted, "But I meant after hours, or gossip; you never talk or share."

"That's not true either." Quatre pointed out, "Heero did tell me about how you nearly destroyed Relena's car."

"Heero knows too!" He threw his hands to the sky in frustration, "Was I the last to find out?"

Heero shook his head, "No. I don't believe Trowa or Wufei know."

"Wait," Quatre said and tried to recall Thursday night, "If neither of them know, how did you find out?" His mouth moved faster than his mind.

"Quatre," Heero's voice was quick to scold him.

"What? Hold on, I missed something." Duo said, confused as to why he was snapping.

"Nothing, my mistake," Quatre said, dropping the topic. Poor Duo had to be left in the dark. Quatre had stumbled on yet another loophole in Heero's story, one that put him in the same room as Relena at some point that evening after dropping Wufei off.

They walked silently for a few moments until Duo piped up again, "Maybe if you did open up more, we wouldn't be left to speculate."

"Did you ever think there was nothing to tell?" Heero asked.

"Says the guy who held a school at gun point," Duo comically pointed out, "I say that if it was 'nothing', you wouldn't have gone through all of that."

"Finally, truth." Heero gave him a victory.

"He's looking out for Relena's well being," Quatre made another unintentional stab at Heero, "That's something we've seen plenty of times before."

"That's not quite it." This silenced the other two. Fed up with their antics, as innocent as they were, he decided to give them what they wanted. "This person has a high level of access if they can access security cameras in buildings other than the school."

Duo exchanged glances with Quatre and they mouthed a few notions back and forth. The two were unable to distinguish whether or not Heero's line was a 'come hither' to continue guessing, or a 'that's all you get' statement. He did admit to spending time with her at some point, so they went on assuming it was the latter of the two.

They would have to wait for any further developments because they were closer to their destination than anticipated. Their interrogation ground to a halt when the three walked straight up the stairs of the school and went right in. Having met the principal of the school the night of the banquette, Heero was able to curry her favour quickly enough to completely diffuse any time his friends could have had to corner him again. They got to work.

Again, a blind eye was turned toward Heero's antics as he raided the school. If nothing else, they made some progress. Shaking down a few of the students, involved in the arts program, revealed a deeper seeded conspiracy. The ones who did the line art, weren't the ones who originally conceived the idea. A fact that became quite obvious.

"I was only one of the inkers! I swear," the student revealed all that he knew. His two arms were let go of and he was permitted to fall to his knees, holding his stomach in pain. It hurt badly enough that the guy gasped for air, choking to get oxygen.

Quatre polished his right fist, for it had been a long time since it was used in such a way. He stealthily concealed the panic he felt after punching the guy. "A lot of good that did us," he commented, disliking resorting to violence as soon as they did.

"At least we know where we're supposed to be looking," Heero said and let them into a 'staff only' section of the school, compliments of the school's principal. Wasting no time, they began sifting through the school's server. They were looking for scans, or uncompleted versions of the 'art piece'.

"If they did it by hand..." Duo had his feet up on the desk and was leaning back, tired of going through file after fruitless file. He was thinking about pieceing all the logic of this book together and it wasn't working well.

"They're gone," Quatre followed up before Duo could finish. This pulled the attention of the others. "There seems to be a bunch of students who transferred out. Take a look," he said and showed the screen to Heero. He had a feeling the person responsible for the act may have very well fled. It would seem he was on the right track.

Duo checked the school transfer transcript over his shoulder and noticed the request occurred the day after the banquette. "They put in the request during the banquette. Looks like someone knew that their plan was flawed." He could tell these people were intentionally running now.

"That, or it was intended to be a 'swan song'. Where did they transfer," Heero asked, unfinished with their collective ass.

"Different places," Quatre said and pointed to some dates.

"Hold that thought," Duo intervened and worked through the computer's operating system, manipulating it's availability of information. "...these people were smart. They created false profiles." He drew attention to the creation date of the 'student information'. "There's about five different cases that transferred on the same day. We've got no idea who's real or not, we could be chasing a ghost." He sat back and let out a heavy sigh. "Whoever they are, they aren't just an artist." Confirming that they did have extensive computer knowledge as well as a keen eye with the pen.

"Showing up here has probably rattled a few heads," Quatre mentioned, "What's the chance of them doing this again?" He had a point. If their presence made any sort of impact(_and it did_), it would be reflected in the rumors of tomorrow.

"Okay," Heero said, "I'd like to say this is wrapped up...but I guess we'll have to wait and see." They left the school, a single casuality, and still very little useful information on the perpetrator.

"This sucks," Duo summed their travels up in two words. "Do you even thing we made enough noise?" He questioned the effectiveness of only getting across to one of the students.

"If we're lucky," Heero said, he sounded let down. Roughing up a single student wasn't his intention, roughing up _the right student_ was his goal; he fell short, in a personal opinion.

"The truth _is_ out there," Duo referenced a television show of the time, "Or is it?" He turned his disjointed attention back to Heero, who had been avoiding the conversation about Relena for a while now.

"All that _you_ need to know, _is_ out there already," Heero deflected.

"I doubt that. I think we have a right to know how freaky you are. For our own safety. What if one of us stumbles on you in a moment of rapture? We could be scarred for life if we didn't know how to handle it," Duo reasoned with him, with minimal success.

"I'm not _that_ bad," he said with a chuckle. Heero assumed Duo had seen the page of the comic in question and defended himself as necessary. He would never have thought to use a cue stick in such a way, it was laughable. Interesting, though.

"Here's hoping," Duo laughed.

Quatre only laughed half-heartldly, "Yeah."

"How would someone even come up with something like that?" Duo continued, "It had to have happened in real life. There's no way you'd come up with that on your own," he said as he referred to the 'pool cue' incident in the middle of the booklet. His comment unknowingly made both Heero and Quatre cringe at their own individual thoughts, for their _own_ separate reasons.

The comic that was released the very next day would show them how little they knew about the situation. It also showed them how close the creator had gotten, undetected. Not only were there two new 'leads' in the newest edition, it sported new art yet again.

* * *

We're going to 'psychology' again in the next chapter. Consider this your fair warning. People bitch when I make them think about things, bugs them, I guess.

Not this time! This is such a twist!  
Who's in the new comic?


	12. Chapter 12: My Locus

I've been hint dropping since chapter 6, so this is going to be a neat little hook.

**Thoughts to make you think...**

I've coined a phrase when I was dealing with my depression: "You don't know how sick you are until you're better." It's followed me for many years.

There's this thing called 'locus of control', you'll hear it a lot if you take any psych course. What it means is 'how you feel about your ability to control the outcome of the world around you', that is your locus(it's not an insect, lol).

When you have an '_internal_ locus of control', you are aware of your abilities and faults, and can cope with the stresses in your life in an effective manner(ex. I failed that test because I didn't study enough, time to try a different strategy). An '_external_ locus of control' is when you feel helpless because outside forces are inflicting upon your well being and you have no control(ex. This test is too hard, no one's meant to pass it except for geniuses! *gives up/world ends*).

Awareness of where your locus of control resides, can give you great personal insight. This insight can help you get what you want out of life. I make it sound so simple, don't I? It's not that easy, especially if you don't know if there's anything wrong.

What if you're unaware of the 'locus of control' you're able to harness? How long do you suffer in silence? How long before you realize you need help? Who do you ask for help when the time comes? How long before you realize which form of control you have, internal or external?

What if, what you thought was external, was really internal? Or vice-versa?

Have...any of you asked yourself these questions? o_o I do all the time, which is why I write.

We be rollin...

* * *

**Chapter 12: My Locus**

* * *

Monday was a bust. Quatre dropped his bag off at the front door and the strap brushed against a raw knuckle. He cringed. He stopped off at the photo development shop after school to get his mind away from the day, scraping his sore hand was a step in the wrong direction.

He had gotten the pictures he and Naibun took on Sunday's outing developed and wanted to show them to her. The shots they took came out nicely. But when he got home she was nowhere to be found. "Is she off today?" he asked another housekeeper.

"She's on. I think she's in the cellar," she said and continued on.

A brief search ensued. She was on the second floor, past the den and clapping cushions together over the balcony outside. Quatre decided it was best to leave her to the chores, she 'was' at work after all.

Before leaving the doorway, he saw a brisk wind blow some dust back at her, making her cough. His heart skipped a beat. For some reason, his body was telling him that something was really wrong; normally he wouldn't panic so easily. '_Is she okay_?' he asked himself as he watched her catch her breath. She _had_ to be in some sort of danger, each time she coughed the fear spread. He went outside to talk to her, "Are you alright?"

"Qua-" she coughed, "-tra. Hang-" cough, "-on. Be right with you," she said and tried to clear her throat. When she finally got her barrings, she saw Quatre crumpled in one of the bistro chairs. He too was trying to catch a breath. "What's wrong?"

He was trying to steady his breathing; it was the same kind of panic he felt when he was in the fight earlier, and evidently, the bus the other day. "I thought you were in danger, or 'I thought' I thought you were in danger-" he said as he raised a shaky hand to his face, covering his eyes; he wasn't making sense, even to himself.*

"It was dust in the air, I'm okay," she assure him. It did no good, he still couldn't calm down. "Did you want me to call for somebody?"

He waved a hand at her, "I'll be alright."

"If you're sure," she said. Naibun coughed lightly into her hand so she could continue the rest of the conversation, but it caused another pang of fear to spread over Quatre. She witnessed his whole body tense up. "I'm not helping much, am I? Do you want me to leave?" Naibun could tell her coughing fit had upset him somehow.

"Would you mind? I'm sorry, that's rude," he said.

"Not at all," she pointed to the door that led back into the den, "I'll wait right there for you."

Cooling down was easier when she wasn't around. His heart slowed and returned to it's normal state. He liked Naibun, but not enough to fly into a panic attack over her. Quatre never had a girlfriend before, could this be a result of the crush he was developing for her? "Maybe..." he said and paused to give it some thought. He _was_ living with one of his sisters again, maybe this was his protective side going into overdrive. Then there was the thing _whole thing that happened on the weekend_. He re-entered the house, confident that was the reason for the acute stress reaction.

"How are you now?" she asked in a quiet voice, careful not to tickle her throat further.

"I'm good," he held a hand over his chest, "It seems today took a lot out of me." Earlier that day was the physical altercation, and it _had_ been a long time since he angrily raised his fists in such a way. The last time he took a shot at anyone, it was from behind the helm of Sandrock. This was most likely his nerves settling.

"Did you have a hard day?" she was hoping it was 'test anxiety' making him sensitive, and not her.

"You could say that," he said. After a quick run down of what happened, he explained why he was at the neighbouring school 'kicking ass'. He didn't word it as harsh, "We tried to get them to come forward in a civil manner, but they refused." A brief flash of his hand revealed a couple of skinned knuckles. The one on the end was rather red from being brushed with the book bag strap.

She took his hand to get a better look. The beginnings of a bruise formed at the impact zone. "I never took you to be a fighter," she said.

Quatre agreed, "I'm not," he said and blushed from the hand to hand contact. "Normally, I dislike violence, but I knew Heero's fists would have fallen with much more force than mine ever could." Heero was the one being targeted, therefore he may have taken it more personally. Simply remembering the encounter at the other school caused more unrest to rear it's ugly head.

Naibun saw this and let his hand go, figuring she caused it from her touch. "Heero? The boy who was here on the weekend?" she tried to change the topic.

"Yes," he said, keeping the swell of his pulse under wraps with some slow breathing.

"How was everyone the morning your friends stayed over?" She had left befor any of them crawled out of bed, so she didn't get a chance to see how they were feeling.

"Oh, just fine. Apart from today's disturbance, that is." He was calming down again. When he finally did come down all the way, he showed off the pictures they took together. Crisp and clear, especially for a cell phone camera; Naibun had to send copies to her family overseas. Quatre gave her the disk with the pictures and trotted off to his room for the night. He'd have stayed at the dorm, but he didn't have any first aid supplies to tend to his hand. Since the school nurse made him uncomfortable, he landed on the idea of going home for an extended stay. He didn't think it would throw his routine off to spend one extra day at home; and it did give him time to talk with his sister more.

The following day seemed to quickly go awry. How fortunate Quatre would have been if he'd just stayed home that Tuesday. He was however a crature of habit, and the ritual of going to school carried out as normal.

Quatre would wake up at six, eat breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed, wait for the chauffeur to finish his morning cigarette and then ride with said driver to the side door of the school. It had to be the side door on the north end. It was the one farthest from his locker. Sitting in class all day was draining, and getting dropped off where he did, it allowed him to get some morning exercise. He'd enter the building, swap shoes, walk to the other end for the books in his locker and then locate his friends. Each day, every day, clockwork.

Unlike Heero who was graced with bad news the moment he arrived, Quatre didn't catch wind until noon; ruining an otherwise perfect day. There was another book created, this time it was Quatre and another pupil at the school who had been targeted.

To to misfortune of the poor student caught carrying the only copy, the original, Quatre wasted no time taking it from him. Post haste. He was forced to be fierce to get to it too. Two days in a row, violence, he wasn't pleased. His knuckles hadn't healed from hitting the guy yesterday. His mind didn't care, it had a goal, and Quatre's grip was going to go out of the way to make his mind's way known. This time there was no panic, it was pure rage. _After washing his hands, Quatre grabbed him._ "Where did you get this?" he bellowed at the smaller student, a full octave lower than he normally spoke with. Quatre had him pinned against a now dented bathroom stall by his neck, no feet on the floor anymore.

It was only by chance he got caught too; Quatre walked in on the guy making a call, talking to the creator of the comic on his cell in the stall. The guy was being over-dramatic, "I'll die before I say anything!" He pulled at the hand holding him fast, knowing not how serious a hand it was.

Quatre's free fist found it's way to the face of the boy declining his request, "Don't try me!" He left marks on the other student's neck, blisters of bright red skin bulged out from between his finger spaces. The arms that once tried to pull Quatre's hand away, fell limp and lifeless at his sides, not before croaking the word 'never'.

Heero intervened, "That's enough," and loosened his friend's grip using a moderate amount of force. The other guy hit the floor gasping, trying to regulate his breathing again. "You don't need to get expelled," he said and passed him the hand drawn comic off the counter. Heero swiped the guy's phone and took the number he had just been speaking with.

He took the book in hand and looked at the crumpled mass in front of him, on the floor, begging for more oxygen. A swift kick to the rib cage and Quatre's anger was finally curbed. "You best pass the message along. No more of this," he flipped the comic in the air, waving it at the guy on his way out of the rest room.

Both Heero and Duo were there the whole time, but remained quiet. Duo stayed flat against the back wall in wide eyed shock. There were only a handful of times he got a glimpse of Quatre's temper, each one more horrifying than the last. This time it was only a few meters away. "Maybe it's because we don't get to see it that often, but dammit Quatre, you're temper is scary."

When Quatre heard this, as if it were a reflex, his fist swung again, fast. It landed on the last locker of the hallway they were in. Dead center of its aluminum door. Being hit hard enough it bent and buckled off it's hinges. It swung open one final time and fell off, hitting the floor with several metallic 'clangs'. The noise echoed down the desolate corridor. "I'm going to the roof." And it was where he planned to stay for the rest of the day. He propped the door with a broom handle and took up refuge in a shady spot. His head needed some cooling off before he went around ripping anyone's head off.

His forehead rested on his knees and he eventually calmed down.

With morbid curiosity, he laid the book on the ground and opened it, to see what kind of destruction it was attempting to wrought. Who had they paired him off with? "Of course," he said, seeing Naibun's name on the first page. She looked different. Quatre couldn't help but notice Naibun's proportions were _way off_. She was far curvier in the book than in real life. She wasn't slender to begin with, but this book added several more pounds than she obviously had. He didn't bother to go past the first few pages, it pissed him off too much. Who could possibly want to do this to them? It made no sense. Quatre's blood pressure returned to normal and managed to make it to his final class of the day.

The class was shared with Duo, who did his best to assure him that no copies had surfaced. There was a clicking noise that seemed to constantly grab his attention, it looked like he was trying to avoid bringing up the comic again. When asked what it was, all he said was 'two in a row' and left it at that.

As the day ended, "I wonder if I'll get one of me?" he said with glee. Apparently it wasn't just an act, the clicking noise _was_ that enchanting after all.

"I'm glad you find it amusing," Quatre sighed, "I'm worried."

"Don't be," Duo brushed it off.

"Why not? Someone's following me-no, _us_; Heero too. Doesn't that bother you?" He was really put off by the whole thing. It had a certain level of creep to it, reserved only for bad harlequin novels.

"No way," Duo brushed it off.

"...you can change your name and move, right?" Quatre guessed as to why he was so lax about it; being a hacker gave him certain advantages in the modern world.

"Nope. I'd copyright myself and sue them. There's more money in it that way."

"Come again?" He gave him a sideways glance.

"I'd get a patent on my image," he exaggerated, snickering.

"You didn't invent the 'braid-look', Duo," he laughed with him. They shook off the earlier shake down and turned their attention to the new book. "See, the art keeps changing." He showed off some of the less explicit pages.

"Woah," Duo exclaimed and ripped the book from his hand. "Holy hell..." he was awestruck at the bust size the artist decided to go with.

Quatre snatched the book back, "Cut that out, it's a drawing," he enclosed the comic in one of his text books, keeping it safe and flat. "Like the first one, the truth is embellished somewhat."

"I wonder if it is..." he placed his thumb and index finger along his jaw line to think.

"You've seen her, Bunni isn't that...voluptuous." He tried to get that image from his head.

"Bunny?"

"Naibun, I mean," he accidentally called her by her nic name.

Duo picked up on the error and smirked, pleased his friend was showing interest in this new girl they hired. "Who knows how many curves that girl has, she's got a corset on all the time."

"That's for medical reasons," he defended her.

"And with jugs like this," he held up the page in question, "I bet it's scoliosis," a condition that gave one an irregular 's' curvature of the spine.

Quatre checked his text book and noticed the comic was missing. He grabbed the thinly bound, thirty page, monstrosity from Duo's dangling hand. "How did you get that?" He put it back.

"I know a way we can find out the truth about 'the bust'," he said with cunning.

"Whatever it is, I'm not interested," Quatre replied, sounding fatigued. They continued on past the school gates. He knew full well this plan was going to involve them sneaking in somewhere and he wasn't up for creating more drama for himself.

"Why not? There's a swim meet tomorrow, she's on the team. Are you telling me you have a problem with swimming? If so, we're gonna' have some _words_ my friend," he was kidding.

Quatre shook his head, "Not...what I thought you had in mind."

"What-oh, you thought I was going to get you to sneak into the locker room to watch her change?" He made his friend turn red, "Nah, it hasn't gotten to that point yet. I can put that offer on the table though," he said, now aware of all the security flaws the school had. He could set a timer to diffuse the locks, if he wanted.

"On the table?"

"Only if you want to." He smirked.

"...no."

"You hesitated," Duo called him on it.

"I didn't," his tone of voice wasn't convincing.

"If we got in there," he said and held up the comic yet again, "We could get a few people in on it, hold a betting pool, let them guess how many sizes they put her up. There's money in this. What do you say?" He meant none of it, it was just fun to torment his friends.

"Give that back!" he yelled and proceeded to chase Duo to the parking lot. Fair warning given beforehand, he ended up laying a few punches on him. Quatre took the book back saying, "Touch it again, I knock you out."

"You hit like a truck," Duo said as he got up and brushed himself off, unable to stifle his laughter any. Bruised or not, the reaction was worth it, he had gotten Quatre to smile. "So...swim team tomorrow?"

"Yes," he said and tucked the offensive material in the middle of his large text book.

"That's what I'm talkin' about," he said with pride; there was no hesitation in Quatre that time. On the drive home they talked more about the nasty artist who was going to great lengths to make waves. "I got it," Duo's brilliant idea, "Maybe it's a conspiracy against us and not Relena, like we originally thought."

Quatre sat across from Duo in his stretch limousine, it allowed for lots of leg room. "Because of our past as soldiers?" he said.

"Exactly! They're bitter about all the stuff we did with our gundams, now they're trying to shame us into hiding, out of spite." He was quite proud of himself for that breakdown.

"I don't know. I'd like to think the majority of people understand all the good we ended up doing." Quatre refused to believe their efforts didn't have an impact.

"Could be jealousy," Duo suggested.

The window to the driver's cab slowly opened. "Maybe it's because you guys are really cute and have a really 'riskay' past," came a female voice through the opening. When the window lowered completely she said, "Did that ever occur to you?" It was Missy, the bartender from the banquette.

It took a few seconds to register, but Duo pointed an accusing finger at the girl, "Judas!"

She held a hand up off the steering wheel to calm him, "I know, I know; I'm sorry."

"When did you start working for us?" Quatre was referring to his family's company. He also took note her lack of uniform; even their drivers had uniforms, Missy did not.

"Yeah, I thought you were just a bad bartender?" Duo said; he was sour, arms folded, unimpressed with the half-assed apology he received.

"I'm only covering for Jeff. And I tracked you guys down to apologize." She looked to be caught off guard by the question, "And 'ow', okay. I do a little bit of everything. My point though: I saw you two at my sister's school yesterday." She could see Duo's narrowed blue eyes bitterly glaring at her.

"We were there on business," the less annoyed one said, trying not to give too much away.

"I heard the whole story from sis-and you two were talking kind of loud a second ago-did you find the artist?" she asked quickly.

"No," Quatre was going to continue, but hesitated; he didn't feel like talking about the book any more.

"Hmm," she saw this, "Is something else wrong?"

"Yes," Duo cut them off, "You owe me a _real_ drink, dammit!" First Relena bailed on him, which he wasn't letting go of and now this one was doing the same thing.

She rolled her eyes, warmly smiling, "I'll mix you a for 'real-real' drink when we get to the house if you like." Missy looked in the rear view mirror to see a response, "If I'm permitted inside."

"Well, yeah but...you know, we aren't really old enough," Quatre admitted. Duo shushed him with a low hiss.

"Pff," she chuckled lightly, "As if that's stopped anyone before," she chuckled louder, "Heh, not even a little."

"Fine." Duo was the one to permit her entrance. "You have to wear the uniform...with the corset!" His folded arms remained as such and his head cocked off to the side. He wasn't going to back down until he was sure this 'missy' was going to keep good on her word.

"Deal. But, to backtrack some," her eyes locked with Quatre, "I think I have some information you may need; about a certain comic."

Duo's arms were now uncrossed and he was holding up the offending booklet through the little window. "You mean this?" He then got punched in the face and lost the pilfered comic.

It happened so quickly, Missy went blank. "Yes, that one a-and the other one too." she said, wondering if her second passenger was conscious. He could no longer be seen. Missy owed him a drink, but figured an icepack would be the better choice now.

* * *

**Thoughts to make you think...**

Did any of you notice the shift in language when Quatre was freaking out? XP

When I said the line "_After washing his hands, Quatre grabbed him_." What did I mean?

Did Quatre wash his hands before he attacked the guy? Or did I mean, Quatre waited until the _other guy_ finished washing his hands before he grabbed him? (I'll let you know on my next update :P)


	13. Chapter 13: And it Thickens

I'm so pumped you guys are digging the story. :)

Question: "_After washing his hands, Quatre grabbed him_." What did I mean?

Answer: It was a trick question. There really is no answer to who washed their hands first; either line of reasoning would be crazy. The point of the line was to display the lack of rational Quatre had; that's all.

* * *

**Chapter 13: And it Thickens**

* * *

They took up refuge at Quatre's house, sitting around a table in the bar room. Missy began, "My sister collects independent doujinshi's. I think she's hoping they'll make it famous so she can auction them off online; eventually. I snagged this when I noticed the names." She brought out a torn page from the first comic, wedged in a store bought manga. "I got this volume last week, so it was fresh in my mind," she showed them a page of the book along side the amateur one. They sported the exact same, non-explicit, pose. "They copied the art. Probably for both books." Which is the reason her sister gave it up willingly, it was worthless if plagiarized. "I don't think it's a conspiracy, I think someone's just good with the 'point and click' of it all."

"That explains how they did it so quickly." Duo snapped a finger, "I knew someone was good with computers. It can also explain how they altered the school registry; they've got experience." He prayed it wasn't another hacker, he wasn't looking for any sort of 'code' face off.

"Or they could have authority at the school," Quatre suggested, "Maybe a student counsel member, or event coordinator; they'd have access to the registry and all the student information." There were a lot of students who had 'pull' around the school, this seemed to be at a level one of them could handle. That in mind, it also meant a lot of students needed to be stepped on to get answers.

"So are we abandoning the idea that it's more than one person?" Duo asked, "Because we've found a lot of people involved; painters, inkers, people who said they went through someone else."

"Maybe it's one person, pretending to be many people," Naibun suggested, aloof as to how insightful it was. She was tidying a nearby shelf with an elongated duster and needed to give it lots of attention; there was no sitting down 'on the clock'. "Kind of, to throw you off."

"That's twisted," Duo commented.

"You said you got a number?" Missy asked.

"I wonder if it'll match anyone's number on the registry," Duo popped his laptop open and began digging. He didn't want to chance missing it and magnified the screen to maximum.

"Did you save a text document?" Quatre looked over his friend's shoulder, wondering how much of the student's information was leaked onto his hard drive.

"Nope; I left a back door open," he said, referencing the conversation they had earlier about the locker room. He peeked over top of his screen, "How about that drink?" he said to the dolled up miss, Missy.

She had agreed to it because she legitimately felt bad, thus the follow through. Naibun was even nice enough to lend her a spare. "Anything in mind?" she asked as she went behind the counter.

"Something with milk," Duo requested. He was unsure if such a thing existed.

"Something I won't like the taste of," Quatre made an odd request.

"Good choices," she said with a laugh. Upon opening the cupboard she was left speechless. The array of fancy liquors was more lush than the garden of Eden. It went to the ceiling. Her jaw fell open and she took a step back in awe, not wanting to strain her neck.

"Why not something good?" Duo was curious.

Missy answered for him, "The last time you had tasty drinks, it didn't end well." She ran her finger along the long line of liquor, landing on name after foreign name. "Let's go with something different. Do you have tomato juice?"

"Yes. There should be some in the fridge." Quatre directed her to the small fridge below the counter; his family's personal bar was stacked better than most pubs. Not that he was granted access, formally, but he was never told to stay out either.

"So, can we party here sometime?" she asked as she grabbed the bottle of red juice and white milk. Missy began mixing properly measured drinks for them, humming a song by some country singer; 'still to young to care' was the only part that was near audible.

"Not sure. I'll have to ask one of my sisters." The one left in charge, that is.

They paused their speech as the line of concentration shifted, Missy at the counter, Duo at the keyboard, slaving away. Duo broke the silence saying, "Your outfit looks good," without looking up. He was playing coy. "How did you have a spare one of those?" he asked Naibun as she passed by.

"You'd be surprised, these things snap after a while." She wasn't paying attention as she spoke, so she didn't see the fluster in Quatre when Duo elbowed him and mutter the words 'wonder why'.

"I don't think I could work like this everyday," Missy tugged the device upward, shifting how it sat on her rib cage. "I'm sure I'd rake in the tips though," she laughed.

"Nada," Duo said as he finished scanning the student directory. "It doesn't even start the same way as the numbers around here; I think it's from out of town."

"It's probably a pay as you go phone, too. If theses guys were covering their tracks, they did a good job of it." Quatre tried to make connections in his mind, but was interrupted with the two glasses being laid out for them. "Thank you."

To Quatre's, "Yours is a Bloody Mary." She pointed to Duo's, "Yours is a White Russian."

He gave it a try. "Not bad." The idea of drinking milk with his alcohol made him not want to drink too much. Milk coming back on you was awful, so it served as a decent 'control'.

"Yup," Quatre said after he tried a sip from his salt rimmed glass, his face said it all.

"Won't be drinkin' too many of those, will ya?" Missy smirked as she watched him try to take another mouthful.

"I could get used to it," he said, not sure if he could live up to that expectation.

"I'll add tobasco sauce if you want another, that should spice it up," she took a seat, now that she knew her patrons were satisfied with their beverages. Her blood ran cold when her eyes landed on something horrifying, she said nothing right then, "And I can make you a Black Russian next, if you like," she said to Duo instead.

"Black?" he said and looked in his glass, figuring it out right away, "Does that mean I'll get chocolate milk?" He saw her nod, "Sweet," and sipped from his straw.

"Where do we go from here?" Quatre asked.

"Depends," Duo said, "Did you let the guy hang up before you wailed on him?"

Quatre couldn't remember. "I'm not sure."

"Then we're not calling the number ourselves. I could go...nah," he thought about it some more, "I _could_ get into the provider's system to triangulate a location it was used at, but it wouldn't be accurate enough to be useful. Plus they'd notice; I can't risk that." Getting caught for hacking the phone company would be jail time for sure, people's credit information was on the line. He was seventeen and didn't want a criminal record.

"Master Quatre," Naibun said, holding folded blankets. "Why not do a reverse look-up of the number online and call the provider pretending to be them?"

They all shared a quiet moment of contemplation, "Sounds good to me. Duo?" Quatre prompted him.

"All over it," Duo said and began the search.

Naibun continued to tend to her chores, glad she gave them a little spirit boost in the process. "Good luck," she said and left.

Waiting until the housekeeper was out of the room, Missy couldn't hold the question any longer, "So, Quatre, what's going on with your hand?" she asked, looking at his right hand, "You need ice?"

He looked to where she was pointing; his first two knuckles drew the attention, being all bruised and swollen. "How did I miss that for so long?" It took time to swell to capacity, was all. He got up and went to the bar's sink to run some water on it. It finally started hurting, now that he was paying attention to it.

Quatre decided to stay at his own house that week, due to all of Monday's commotion. More so because of the day after. It was too much for his head to handle. He had only acquired the dorm room a few weeks ago so the adjustment wasn't much of a strain on his routine to go back home for a while.

He assumed the fight yesterday did more damage than anticipated. "I must have hit it on the way in here."

"No way, that was from when you hit the locker," Duo scoffed at Quatre trying to act nonchalant about it.

"What locker?" he looked confused.

"Sorry man; did you not want me to bring it up?" he asked, figuring Quatre wasn't ready to talk about how aggressively he behaved. That changed when he could see the confusion in his friend's face. "Don't you remember?"

"I remember being on the roof...wait..." he tried to scan his memory banks. "How did I get there? I was sitting...with the book in my hand...I don't remember how I got it. I must have picked it up...in..." He was seriously looking for the images that led him to have the book in his possession. His control was slipping, he could feel his heart race. Why couldn't he remember?

"What, exactly, happened today?" Missy was intrigued and sat down with them again, holding out some ice in a bag for Quatre. She laid it on top of his hand and wrapped a cloth around it, "Hold it if you can." He could, but only with a couple fingers. She bunched the rest of the cloth in his palm, so he didn't need to close his hand so tightly.

"Heero and I were there watching. Do you mind if I tell her?" he asked Quatre.

"Not at all," he nodded.

Duo began to retell the whole scene. He also included the phone conversation, and how they could tell the student on the cell was talking to the creator. "At the end, Heero had to pry you off his neck; that's when _he_ handed you the comic. You kicked 'buddy' in the ribs once and we left down the hall. You punched a locker so hard, it came off it's hinges. That's when you went to the roof until last class."

Quatre tried to imagine the scene in his head, "..."

Missy was stuck for words. How had this sweet looking guy possibly do something like that? The look on his face suggested that he wasn't lying, he seriously couldn't remember. Which is when it clicked with her, "You blacked out."

"I wasn't drinking," he said, hoping to find the answer within himself.

"You don't have to drink to black out. It's just, you really don't..." she tried to find words that wouldn't sound too abrasive, "...you don't strike me as someone who's very pushy."

"...I'm usually not," he said with a discouraged tone. He began to think there was something wrong with his head the moment he destroyed the space colony, years ago; why would it be coming back to haunt him now? It had to be something else, it happened too suddenly. "I think..." he pondered as he watched what Duo was doing. He was texting. "What's that?"

Duo didn't look up from what he was doing, "I thought Heero should know."

"Why?!" he got defensive.

"We don't need you losing your marbles again; I want to know what he thinks of this," he said and continued on.

"Nice. Tactful," Missy commented on Duo's words, they should have been picked more gracefully. If his friend was seriously going through any mental illness, coupled with the ordeal at school that day, he was feeling vulnerable. "He's concerned...and from the looks of it, scared."

Duo only lifted his eyes to look at her, "You weren't there," he said and went right back to the text. In his head, he compared Quatre's rage to a fire; if it _were_ a flame, the school would have been in cinders. "What if that happens when someone isn't there to pull you away?" He closed his phone, finished with the message.

"You've got a point," Quatre was calmer now because the alternative was much worse, especially when said out loud. He truly had a passion for control, in any aspect; like, the drink in his hand, which he had emptied most of.

A phone buzzed and got flipped open. Duo spoke, "...Heero says: Make an appointment with your doctor," he flipped it shut again, "Or he'll do it for you."

It was good to see he had supportive friends around him, but Missy was starting to regret offering the drink in the first place. If she knew even half of what they were going through, she'd have kept quiet in the front seat of the limo and apologized to Duo one on one. At the same time she was glad to be there, she wanted to help out in any way she could. "That in mind, do you think you should be throwing drinks back; it is a school night."

"One more," Quatre asked, knowing Duo was getting another.

"Could you wait ten minutes?" she said as she watched him down another mouthful. "And I'm putting lots of hot sauce in the next one."

"That's fine," he said and turned his attention back to Duo. "Any luck?"

He nodded, "I found the number...but their name isn't listed. I did, however, find what phone company they're with."

"Ring em' up," Missy said.

"Let's see," Duo said while dialing the customer service line. The others only got half of the conversation, it had a strange introduction. "Hey there...you sure can. The number of the employe is," he rattled it off, "...No, I don't know the name on the account...or mine...yes, it's my number." The rep was giving him grief. "...or my birthday...or address...or activation date...I've got Lyme disease, okay! Stop making me feel stupid...thank you."

There was a long pause, one of Duo's eyebrows were cocked as he eagerly anticipated the success of his ruse. "...really? Is there only one name on the account?" He squinted his eyes, "That doesn't sound right; have I reached Sym Co.?" he made up a name, "...oh, that's why none of it's lining up. Didn't I tell you it was for an employe? Quit wasting my time." He hung up. Duo's acting was spot on, it seemed like he had done this before.

"What was all that?" Quatre asked.

"Customer service is fun to mess with," he said with a ruthful smile. "Apparently, the account holder is female. I can't get access." Duo looked bummed as he stuffed the cell back in his sweater's right pocket. He felt something else in there, but didn't bother with it. He quickly recalled Heero vowing to pummel whoever it was that made the comic; would his vow change now that they knew it was a girl behind it all?

Quatre was also taken aback by this new discovery. "It'd be a lie if I said I didn't see that coming. I was really hoping it wasn't going to be a girl." He definitely wasn't going to hit a female, rendering 'a beating' totally out of the question.

"Me too," Duo looked drained.

"I could scrap with her," Missy suggested, hoping she didn't really have to.

"As much as I'd love to see you mud wrestle some chick, no, we'll think of something else. We can always hope the phone number was under a false name." Duo passed the halfway mark on his cup.

Missy raised an eyebrow, "...why mud?" she asked to Quatre, who was probably the only one who could answer the question, for Duo was too deep in thought. Quatre could only shrug.

"We should have got you to call," Duo said to Missy. Looking contemplative, he went silent to think, "You're right, pudding would be way better."

She shook her head, "You've put too much thought into this," Missy replied, now wondering why she was serving alcohol to minors.

* * *

In case any of you were thinking it, no, Missy isn't the author. Neither is her sister. That would be a lame twist. What I have in mind is far more devastating.

Go big or go home, right? ;P


	14. Chapter 14: Killer Night

And to those of you who wondered where 'she' went, it'll get glazed over here.

You'll see what I mean. :)

Sorry it's so long.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Killer Night**

* * *

Quatre got a text from Heero asking to come over. "...oh. Hang on guys," he said and went to open the front door, Heero was apparently right outside.

Missy knew it would take him a few minutes, they were upstairs, and she wanted to try something. "I want to do a little experiment on Quatre."

This quickly drew Duo's attention away from the prospect of foxy boxing. "Experiment?" he asked, his straw reaching the bottom of the beverage.

"I had an notion. Just keep being okay with waiting for your drink, alright?" she said, not wanting Quatre to know.

He nodded, "If it'll keep him upright, I'm in." Duo wasn't looking to carry Quatre around the school tomorrow, because heaven forbid he miss a day due to a hangover.

"I think this 'temper' of his is a little deeper than that," she said, not wanting to sound like she was trying to torment him, only test him. "Maybe if he saw first hand his own triggers, he'd be able to deal with those 'panic' moments better."

"Alright, but be careful," he pushed his newly emptied glass away. "The guy doesn't ask for much, so he's used to getting it." He didn't think Quatre to be selfish, but, set in his ways.

"Exactly. I think depriving him of that 'control' is going to cause an episode," she returned to her lax position in the chair, "It's a hunch." Leaning forward was hard to do with a corset on. "Like you said...marbles, losing them...bad. Best to know what you're up against." She caught her breath.

Duo took notice, "You don't have to keep wearing that." He got his drink, pleased she went through with the agreement; playing along with her little game was his way of saying 'apology accepted'.

"I'll be fine." She hoped she wasn't overstepping her boundaries with her host, this was a risky test. Quatre was smart, he would be able to notice her acting. She had to be careful.

"If you think it'll help, I'll go along with it. You seem to be really good at reading people," he tossed a compliment her way.

She smirked, "What makes you say that?"

"When I sat down at your bar, you knew exactly what I was going to do right away." He meant he was going to flirt with her but didn't get the chance.

"You talk about it like you'd succeed," she nipped playfully at him. "Don't you think that maybe it happens to me a lot, so I treat everyone with disdain and mistrust because I assume they're hitting on me?"

"You can't really be that vain," he said and laughed it off.

"You wanna' bet," she said without a hitch, "I don't just point out other people's behaviors, I'm aware of my own too. I'm a manipulator."

"I always did like honesty," he made another pass.

"Let's see how honest a response we get from Quatre, not me," she dodged the pass.

Duo began wondering if this was how Hilde felt when he turned her down. It kind of sucked. '_Great_,' he thought to himself, now _she_ was on his mind. "Chilly," he said.

"Bring a coat," Missy smirked, noticing the facial expression he made. What idea had popped into his head? Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Quatre returned with Heero and they caught him up on nearly everything; he got a chuckle out of Duo handling customer service. Back to serious, "That's just great," he folded his arms, "We can't rule anything out. This might not be a girl, they could be using a pseudonym to gain sympathy."

"I hope so," Quatre said as he arranged the ice pack to his hand. He was forced to finish his drink with his non-dominant hand, it was annoying.

"If that's the case, who's to say there's one person using the number to make deals then?" Missy suggested as she noticed Quatre messing around with the salt on his glass. "Could you guys wait five more minutes for the next one? I need a breather," she stretched back in the chair again, allowing her lungs to taste the sweet oxygen they craved.

They kept talking and time passed, five minutes exactly. Again, the one under the knife began to fidget. Missy and Duo intentionally steered the conversation so it lasted a bit longer. By the end of it, there was no salt left on the rim of Quatre's glass. "I think there's still some in the bottom," Missy joked.

He laid the glass down, "Sorry, it's been thirteen minutes," he said without doubt.

Duo checked his phone and his brow quickly knitted, "It has been...exactly," he said as he looked over his shoulder to see if there was a clock on the back wall. There wasn't any. "How'd you do that?" he asked because he didn't see Quatre take his phone out at all.

He shook his head, "I don't know. It felt like thirteen minutes...fourteen by now."

Duo checked the time again, it was going to switch in two seconds, "That's freaky."

"It's neat," Missy said. Her interest was at it's peak, "How come it's bugging you?"

"Oh no, it's not. You just said you'd do it, and didn't...I thought I'd remind you." He wasn't angry, he was actually confused as to why this conversation was happening.

"He's not bringing it up," she pointed to Duo, who had no response.

"...what are you trying to pull?" he asked, becoming suspicious of her intention.

He was too quick for her and figured her plot out right away. "I'm suggesting you take it easy on a weekday," Missy said, quickly covering it up.

"Then why offer to begin with?" He was getting agitated, they could hear it in his voice.

She shrugged, "Wasn't thinking."

The amount of calculations that went on in his head were astounding, both his friends were there to witness it too. A nearly unnoticeable head twitch to the side, twice, and he lowered his brow any number of times, eyes searching from side to side. "But-" he tried. They had seen Quatre calculate situations in his mind on many occasions, but the fact it was a 'predicted behavior' on Missy's part was what made it interesting.

She held up five fingers, "Give me five more minutes, I think you should mention the manga, it's got to be a lead," she continued on, "The store cameras might have picked up someone buying it. This volume's only been out a week."

"Wait. What store?" Heero asked.

"Right; I knew we left something out," Duo said. They got caught up with talking to Quatre, they forgot to mention an important fact. He showed Heero the copied art from the professional piece.

Heero laughed, "Are you serious?" he couldn't describe the amount of joy he felt.

"How's that funny? They can mass produce in a matter of hours," Duo asked.

"Think about it; we've come across a lot of people who were paid for these jobs, right? There's a word for this...why can't I think of it?" Heero thought more, it was on the tip of his tongue.

"Plagiarism?" Missy suggested.

"Not that one, though it is plagiarized; it's, when you lie about what a job would be for..." He thought back to class time; apparently he was the only one who took law. "Misrepresentation. If we find who ever's doing this, do you realize the amount of people who could claim damages? We've got them." He was thrilled with the new development.

"I never even considered that." Duo cupped his mouth with a hand as he spoke though it, "That's got to be at least a dozen people." If they were going to bring the hammer down on this person, they were looking at some serious fines, maybe even jail time.

"Even better than that," Missy added, "If there was more than one person involved, it _is_ a conspiracy, and that's an even bigger legal issue."

Finally an end was in sight. "We should find a way to let them know we've got them in a tight spot; they might be willing to stop all this if we clearly state our position." Heero was enjoying the politics, they could see it in his face.

"When did you take an interest in the legal sciences?" Quatre asked.

"When pillow talk with the wife got stale," Duo snarked. He was booted under the table. "Ow! Worth it," he claimed as he rubbed his knee.

"Celebration drink?" Missy asked.

"It's only been three minutes," Quatre said, knowing he was playing on his own impatience. They laughed.

Again, he was spot on. "That's so cool," Duo was amused.

"It guess it comes from spending prolonged periods in space," Heero added, "You subconsciously learn to use other time cue's to get by."

"I keep forgetting you've all been to space. I'd love to go someday," Missy said from behind the marble surface, "Heero, would you like a drink too?" She was ready to start mixing again, having all she needed from Quatre at the moment.

He considered it, "What are you making?"

"Well, we've got something hot, something sweet," she thought about what other style of drink she could make with the vodka, "How about...something sour?" She prayed he didn't notice the jab she made at his usual demeanor.

He didn't, "I'll give it a try." A sour drink sounded interesting and as good a choice as any. "I have to drive home tonight, so only a single." He made a crack back, apparently noticing the jab after all.

She laughed lightly at herself. Someone had to have told Heero the story from Thursday, because she saw him leave before Duo was leveled. "No prob," she got to work. The three drinks were colored chocolate brown, vibrant red and a lush violet. "Bloody Mary with tobasco, Black Russian and finally, Purple Haze."

"Some of these names..." Heero took a sip, it was puckering and zingy. Regardless of it's ridiculous name, it was delicious; he was definitely going to order one the next time he drank.

"I know, but it's appropriately named. After a few you start to feel kind of hazy," she smirked.

"Aren't you going to have one?" Quatre asked, fanning his mouth. She wasn't kidding, there was no skimping on the hot sauce.

"I play for keeps, one drink won't do. Thanks though," she said, knowing her own limitations. After she felt there was enough support there for Quatre, she headed out. Leaving him alone with Duo might have been grounds to enable each others drinking; with Heero to serve as their anchor, they should have been fine. _Should_ have.

"We need to plan something for the weekend," Duo suggested. He wanted to invite Missy over again, hoping to get some 'time spent' with her. He couldn't help but notice how taken she was with the whole set up at Quatre's pad, it was perfect.

"That reminds me. I forgot to mention this yesterday," for he was too pissed, "Trowa's got free tickets to the circus this Saturday."

Quatre's eyes perked up, "Circ de Soleil?"

"Yes. He said there's enough for each of us to take someone. Wufei's got work that night, so he gave up his tickets; we've got two extra." Duo suggested they bring Yumi and Kumi, the girls he met on the subway. It was considered as an option. Making plans and basking in the fortune of the comic problem being solved was a good feeling.

From the hallway, Naibun wondered if Quatre was in any trouble. She couldn't make out what they were saying from beyond the door. She saw his fist yesterday, today it was worse, but she was unable to bring herself to ask him about it. In lieu of mentioning anything she cleaned up a storm and tidied the bar again, like yesterday, so she could keep an eye on him.

She even stopped Missy on her way out to ask what happened to him. She said he only punched a locker, not a person. It still wasn't enough to calm her. '_Should I go back in_?' she thought, not wanting to intrude on 'guy time'. Checking her watch, she took note that it was the end of her shift and debated if she should leave. The last time she left them alone with alcohol, people ended up drinking themselves into the ground. She _did _heard one thing from the other side of the door.

"I kind of want another," Duo's voice said after slurping as much as he could from of the base of the glass.

"I don't know how to mix," Quatre said and followed Duo to the counter.

"I'm heading out in a bit," Heero said.

"You got somewhere to be?" Duo asked as he rounded the corner of the bar, a slight sway in his step.

"I have papers to write," he said. They weren't due for a week but he wanted to work on them each night to lighten his assignment load. It was the only way he could balance work and school.

Duo shooed the idea away with a hand gesture and grabbed the vodka, "They can wait." He proceeded to fill a shot glass. "What was the other thing she ordered-er, added, to this?" His words slipped up.

"Check the covers..." It was then Quatre realized how neurotic he was when it came to upkeep; the caps of the bottles were clean, aside from one that had a tiny dribble down the side. "This one," a strange name, kahlua, "I can't pronounce it."

"Vodka and ka-loo-ah...a shot of each, fill the rest with the milk. Simple." Except he didn't filled the shot glass properly. The rule of thumb to pour a shot was to measure 'a pinky fingernail length to the top of the glass'; both shots tempted surface tension at the rim. After mixing that up, he was feeling adventurous and explored the rest of the bar. Thinking too much about Hilde made him slide into depression, he couldn't afford that. Duo needed a distraction. Then he saw it. Tempting fate, he plugged in the karaoke machine. "You got Queen on this thing?"

"Not happening," Heero denied him, trying to defy it.

"It might not even work properly," Quatre tried to back up the notion, all the while knowing the machine was in fine working order. He prayed Duo didn't find the new single he added the other day titled 'One Week'.

He pressed buttons and fired up the rather large, colorful, jukebox-style machine. "I saw the sticker on the back, it was made in the nineties, it's gotta' have Queen! Come on, sing Bohemian Rhapsody with me!" He wasn't listening to them as he took a swig from his glass and laid it down again.

Quatre made eye contact with Heero and then directed it at the questionable cup Duo was consuming. "Should we stop him?" Quatre asked, feeling the same level of concern for the amount of 'drink' he had.

Heero got an idea. "Alright, I'll do it. Only if you give me that thing you concocted," he attempted to barter.

Duo's face went blank and he dropped what he was doing. Taking Heero's shoulders in his hands, "Are you kidding?" he asked, shaking him gently, "Tell me you aren't."

"I'm not. And so help me, if it leaves this room-"

"-It won't," he was ecstatic and his face overflowed with emotion again. "Why do you want this?" he tried to take a sip but had it snatched away.

Glass in hand, "You still have to ride the bus home," Heero pointed out and moved the glass further away from him as Duo tried to take it back with little effort.

"Stingy. Can't you drive me?" He was sure Heero was only having one drink and that was a while ago.

"Can't," he said and finished Duo's drink, so he couldn't drive. Relena had banned Duo from her car if he was drinking and he didn't have the heart to tell him.

"Fair enough...but," he looked saddened, "Does that mean...you're going to make me ride the bus...alone?" He spoke from behind two clenched, frightened fists. His eyes had all the charm of a lost puppy.

"It's the last bus for the night. You won't be able to come back for the car," Quatre said to Heero.

He sighed, "I'll ride with him if you can take the car to school tomorrow. Do you mind?" Quatre nodded in agreement. Heero was was sure he already told himself that this _wasn't_ going to become a habit, yet here he was, offering sympathy, yet again. He felt he'd gone soft. With a huff he began to scroll through the menu of the retro looking machine, "Let's get this over with."

"It's happening!" Duo cheered, barely able to contain his enthusiasm. No one felt confident enough to hit the high 'c' in Bohemian Rhapsody, so they went with 'Killer Queen' instead. It suited the mood. Duo was granted premission to pick the rest of the songs, provided he didn't pick all 'Queen'. They had one more shot while they tackled the last few songs of the night. It wasn't a good idea, the vodka burned and tasted horrible.

It was time to go wait for the bus. Heero made the mistake of finishing Duo's drink so he didn't have to drag him home, but now he found it kind of hard to walk. "Shouldn't have had that shot," Heero said.

"You're wasted?" Duo asked as he steadied his friend on the sidewalk, Heero had begun to meander off of it.

"Shut up, it was your mix that did this," he said and sat with him at the bus station. They still had a few minutes before the last run of the night happened, the trick was, staying awake.

"I _was_ gunna' finish'it," he snickered, "Sounded like I said 'shit'."

"And you know why? Because you're drunk too," he threw it back in his face.

"I am...so, when were you talking to Relena today?" he asked, trying to squeeze information out of Heero while he was still tipsy.

"We talked after'school. She wanted help looking for this person, people, the comic guy, girl, whatever. She let me keep the car as a thank you for running her around." Duo's hand was rotating, hoping to keep him going, "Thaaat's it," he nodded, "Nutin' else to tell for now."

"For now? Does that mean you'll tell me later, or that it hasn't happened yet?" he asked.

"...neither of those answers work for me."

"Theeen...you're saying it happened already, but you don't want to tell me," he laughed.

"You and Trowa...can both piss right off," his words didn't sound angry, they were calm and tired. He was using the same sneaky tatic to get him to admit to more than he intended to. Heero couldn't help but smirk; just remembering earlier was enough to make him grin.

It was a grin that didn't go unnoticed. "Are you going to ask her to go to the circus with you?" he kept at it, trying to get a rise out of him.

He foiled Duo's plan, "Already done; called'er a couple days ago."

"The hell? It's no fun when you don't fight back," Duo laughed. It was about time Heero had some fun; and drinking on a school night was a sure sign of becoming 'more fun'. He looked at his watch to check the time, but he couldn't make it out. His vision had blurred into double. He covered one eye and read it, still no use.

Their ride finally got there. Even though it was the last run of the evening, the bus was cramped. Only two spots were left to sit in and they were above the heater. The heat made Duo dozy and he kept nodding off on Heero's shoulder, to which he would receive a sharp poke in the head.

When they finally got to Wufei's, Duo immediately collapsed on the couch, taking up the whole thing. Heero tried to move him over some, but couldn't and gave up almost immediately. He backed up and unintentionally went over the arm of a nearby chair. He rolled with it because he landed on a soft seat. However, a comfortable position to lay in was impossible to find. His head was being propped up by an unwilling right wrist and it kept slipping off his fist as he tried to sleep the dirnks off.

Not eating anything, drinking booze and then going to school the next day was hard, and it got worse. Overnight, another comic was released. This time Duo got his wish, he was the star of the new piece. Sadly, he was not paired with a voluptuous young lady, he was paired with Heero, who was playing the role of 'the unwilling, too drunk, straight guy'. "I'll tear them a new one!" Duo bellowed in the empty lunch room; it was still morning and they were in there to talk in private.

"Remember, they're female; you said you wouldn't hit a girl," Quatre tried to calm him with rational thought.

His teeth gritted together, "I know what I said, and I don't care! I'm gonna' slap the hell out of that bitch when I find her!" he said and rearranged the ice pack on his head, "As soon as I'm done dealing with this headache." All his yelling hurt.

"Do you know what's worse?" Heero asked, head down on the lunch table, not trying to move it too much. "They were on the bus with us." The setting of the book was at the back of the vehicle they rode home the night before. Whoever they were, they were dedicated, and getting closer.

* * *

See, I haven't forgotten about Hilde. Initially, I thought she was dead, which is why she wasn't in the story at the beginning(came back in endless waltz, *durp*). So I had to come up with a hook as to why she left. I did, and I love it. It adds loads of drama to the story and facilitates Duo's decent into 'the dark side'. Yea! Depression!

Why do I torment the characters I like? I'm so messed up. DX

And no, it's not Hilde making the comics either. :P


	15. Chapter 15: How I See

I'mma talk your ear off before we go anywhere, I'm really please with how this turned out.

This is a long chapter. I felt bad for making you guys wait so long, and now I sorta' feel bad for making you read so much. :P

Before you begin, please read this _first_ little bit. Skip the TTMYO section if you want, but I want you to hear this.

_I'm not 'cough cough' sick, but I suffer from depression. I have for years. I'm using a lot of the things I dealt with growing up and becoming an adult to make this story. It's the most effective way I've learned to cope thus far. While I feel I'm most comfortable writing dialogue for Duo, I really put myself behind each and every character in this story. I don't have one character that is 'one' person all the time, except for Missy, she's my self insert. I admit it, no shame._

_So thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the read. :)_

Okay, while I'm being honest...if I wrote this story when I watched Gundam Wing as a teenager, I'd be pairing Missy off with Duo and leaving the other bitch dead. I suppose I have to be bigger than that now, and must accept the fact they're a canon pairing...I only jest. I've never had a problem with Hilde, I just thought she was gone for good. Duo is who I based a lot of my personality on growing up...yet I'd pair my character with him...I'm a narcissist. lol

**Thoughts to make you think...**

Do you remember the last few chapters? They had a lot of holes, plot wise; some intentional, others not so much. As a result, a few of the main characters ended up fading into the background; especially Wufei and Trowa.

Like life, as you go about your day it's hard to think of the rest of the world and what may or may not be going on. It's difficult to consider all these things because you never _think_ to _think_ of them. It's impossible! There are far too many variables to account for in the run of a twenty-four hour period to accurately pinpoint who's doing what, all the time.

How much of what goes on each day effects you without you even knowing? When you try to think about those idle things that couldn't or shouldn't be happening, how much of it actually is going down?

This is going to be the first chapter I center around an OC. Time to get to know her a little better...see what she knows behind the scenes. ^^

Still'a'rollin'!

* * *

**Chapter 15: How I See**

* * *

"Quatre, would you like some tea?" Naibun reiterated for her friend. Those were the first words she had gotten to say to Quatre, minus the 'Master' part. She cursed her words. "He must think I'm so common," Naibun said as she tightened her pony tail in the school's mirror.

"He's a rich-bitch, right?" her friend asked.

"Quatre's a gentleman," she defended him.

The other girl shook her head, "I'm exaggerating; I was actually referring to _your_ confidence. Money isn't everything, stop thinking everyone values you only for that." If she actually knew Quatre, she would have pat herself on the back for such a correct statement.

Naibun stared off into space to think, "Your family has money Kinsei, I'm not so lucky."

"Bunni, trust me, if he's worth keeping around he won't care about your money situation." She tossed her bag on the counter and began tying her hair back for practice. Her enlightened notion didn't seem to perk her friend up any, she would have to try again later. "Speaking of money, is the job working out? You're on your feet all day, aren't you exhausted?"

She smiled a little for that, "Nope. I may be on my feet tons, but as soon as I dive in the water, they don't touch solid ground until home time." She lifted the fronts of her bare feet a few times and slapped them on the stone floor.

"You should learn to walk on your hands, then you'll spend even less time on your feet," her friend joked.

Naibun laughed, "I don't think I could do that, my uniform is a skirt."

Kinsei chortled with a toothy grin, "Who knows, maybe people will leave you more tips. Ooh, try picking them up with your toes! You might get the nic-name 'Waitress Tippy Toes'."

"I probably lack the dexterity, I doubt it would go over well," they snickered as they left the locker room. Naibun was forbidden by her family to talk about her real job title to her friends, to the extent she was even forced to lie about where she worked; she said she worked at a little pub her non-existent uncle owned. Extra tips weren't what she was looking for when she turned in the application, she was looking for recognition of another kind, the 'affection' kind.

Quatre performed a piano sonata at the beginning of the year, and that was what got her crush started. It only grew more each day, more so when he played in the gym for everyone to hear. She never saw someone look so peaceful. Naibun never spoke to him though, she couldn't, not at school anyway. She only sat in the rafters to listen to him each time he played, _for months_. It was by chance that she heard him talking about needing to hire more staff; Naibun hopped the bus and was at the Winner mansion that same day to fill out an application. She wasn't going to pass up the chance to get to know him on a personal level, maybe even get to see him play at home some time.

Her friend jarred her from a daze, "Is that a new bathing suit?" Kinsei asked as she held the door for them. She was trying to keep Naibun out of her own head.

"Kind of; I only wore it a couple times to the beach." When it came to practice, they were allowed to wear their regular bathing suits; only a regional tournament would be cause for something to be issued by the school. So today was casual. "This one gives me more support..." It sounded like there was going to be another part to her sentence but she stopped short.

Kinsei felt Naibun was regressing into her head again. "Support, huh? I'd believe that," she said from behind her then grabbed the shoulder straps of her friends suit, "I'm surprised you don't just float with these," and proceeded to 'jiggle' her.

"Stop it," she squealed and took off at a faster pace, laughing the whole way.

Kinsei snickered, "Don't run, you'll slip!" She tried to keep up and couldn't.

"I've got air bags," Naibun said over her shoulder and stepped up to the diving board. Her nearly new bathing suit was a one piece with, 'booty short' extensions at the legs and quarter sleeves. It was like a fashionable wetsuit, each limb had a small corset that held her skin snug and a larger one one spanned her front and lower back for a similar effect.

She had joined the swim team at the beginning of the year to make her transcript 'sparkle'(as he mother put it) and noticed she had begun to lose weight. Before she knew it, none of her clothes were fitting. They hung from her body in awkward spots like the bum and the belly. She felt as though she robbed an elephant of its baggy hide and was parading around in it. Instead of buying a whole new wardrobe, she altered her clothing.

In a desperate attempt to save her favourite shirt, she sewed a few corset loops to either side and fastened it with a colorful shoelace. Not only did she get complimented on losing weight when she wore it, but on being creative too. It was enough encouragement to do it to more of her outfits. She knew that even if the swim team gave her the boot and she gained some of the weight back, she could just let all her clothing back out again. It was reassuring.

Naibun's nerves froze as she saw the audience. None of them were being loud or disruptive, they were just _there_, and that was bad enough. She only caught a brief glimpse of them before she hit the water, but Quatre was sitting in the stand with his friend Duo. Neither were staring her down but she couldn't help feel nervous knowing they were looking. She'd have to preform to a tee to impress anyone; a feat that was going to be tricky, the coach showed up in a bad mood.

He made them drill laps until until they dripped with sweat, which was hard to do in the water. Somehow, he managed. This went on for quite a time. Toward the end of the first hour their star swimmer had to call the coach on his style, "_I_ can do it, not everyone else can." The student was right, their team was being pushed to the breaking point for a pointless practice. Before the coach could get up in arms about the backtalk, "Look at Naibun."

"Kinsei, I can't catch my breath," she said, laying at the edge of the pool, her legs still in the water. Her breathing was shallow and her face red. "I can feel my heart beating in my ears," she said as each pulse welled her eyes up with tears.

"You're pushing yourself too much," she said and saw her friend try to undo the knot near her neck and ended up pulling the loops instead, "Wait, you'll knot it."

"Shoot, I-I did," she panicked and gasped for air. Naibun couldn't tilt her head down enough to see the knot she created. Her fingers blindly pulled at the twine too franticly for her friend to get to it in time.

"Hold on," the coach said and came at her quickly with a box cutter. Some of the people in the audience were in shock until they saw him slit the corset strings that bound her ribs. Naibun caught her breath with no trouble and return to a healthy shade of tan in no time. The coach apologized to the team and gave them 'ten' to relax.

The hype faded and the others disbanded. "Don't push yourself too hard," Quatre's voice came from the other side of the rail that separated the audience from the athletes.

The two girls gave each other a look. Kinsei poked Naibun's side from an angle that Quatre couldn't see, alerting her to make a move. She blushed as she approached him, "The first time you come to see me swim and I nearly pass out. Aren't I classy?" she giggled her last words in embarrassment.

"Classy? I'd say 'passionate'," he smiled, negating any worries she may have had.

Kinsei added, "Can you believe it's not the first time we've had to do that?"

"You serious?" Duo asked in disbelief, "How come you put it so tight?"

Naibun blushed because she wasn't used to showing so much of herself at school anymore. At the moment her chest was mostly covered with a towel draped from around the back of her neck, it wasn't too bad. "Hydrodynamics." She didn't bother explaining what the big word meant; figuring since they were all pilots and knew what 'aerodynamics' were, it went without saying. Her job also 'went without being said', Naibun was relieved. If Kinsei or Quatre brought up her shift after school, her cover would be blown.

Naibun was forbidden by her family to talk to her friends about her real job; they forced her to lie about where she worked. Her mother and father said that she would disgrace their name by saying she was a _maid_.

They spoke for a bit longer and then it was back to practice. Kinsei chuckled when they were finished and drying off in the locker room. "Oh Bunni, if you don't take a bite, I will."

She assumed her friend was referring to Quatre. "He's not a sandwich."

"I-do-not-care," she said in a joking way, "I would devour him. I can see why you're nervous though, he's quite a dish, ohh, a 'Rich Dish'." They laughed; Kinsei enjoyed her punnyness far too much sometimes.

"We went out last week-as friends," she admitted.

Kinsei made herself blush from the thought of Alfredo sauce and noodles for some reason, "Get out. Telll~" she said, egging her on.

Naibun told her all about their legit-innocent-outing on Sunday and how they took all kinds of pictures.

"Go you! I knew you'd have a man before the year was out. Confidence: you got this," she said with a sturdy pat on the back.

She nodded. "I wonder what they have planned for tomorrow. I'll ask Quatre- tomorrow, I think, at school again. I'll search him out even." She was going to ask him after school that day, but she couldn't tell Kinsei that she'd be seeing him again later on.

"It's good to see young men who get a jump on the weekend; normally it's us making the plans," she said and stepped into the changing room.

"Hopefully it won't be a repeat of last weekend. You won't say anything, right?" she asked out loud only because they were the only ones changing at the time.

A shirt got draped over the door Kinsei was behind, "I gain nothing by telling anyone."

Naibun remembered the night well. Quatre and his sister were both there. First it was only him. She had to alter the story some, but it remained untouched in her head. As far as anyone was concerned, it happened at a friend's house, not his; and it also happened the same day as the outing, hence why they were still hanging out.

_"I'm getting a shower, would you like to do me a favour?" Was what he asked, intentionally to get a rise out of her._

_She turned beet red, "Y-yes, Master Quatre?"_

_"Could you come in, in a few minutes, and hand me a towel?"_

_It sounded like he purposefully lengthened his sentences to get her to react, it worked, "No problem," she said breathlessly. Naibun hopped off down the hall to look for the softest towels she could find. In her rush, she didn't see the other person making the turn at the same time as she and they smashed into one another. "I'm so sorry," she said and helped the other girl off the floor._

"_So'kay," she said and stood up. The girl looked to be about the same age as her and a slightly more slender, female, palette swap of her brother. Something was off about her, the girl's face was all red. "Whr's Quatre?" she slurred._

"_He's taking a shower, I'm grabbing towels. Was there something you needed help with?" she said, doing her best to remain polite._

"_The hell he is! Quatre!" she yelled abruptly, "Stop what you're doing and get your ass out here...with pants!" She was sure to add that part at the end._

_Putting his shower on hold seemed unavoidable, he came out to see who was calling to him. It was his youngest sister, Shauna, born only weeks after him. "I didn't know you'd be back so soon."_

"_We got held up and ended up taking an alternate route. It got us here much quicker, I think the weather was on our side. Come have a drink with me," she said and tried to flag him toward her._

_Quatre had drank last night, he wasn't looking to do it a second time in a row. "I really don'-" he was cut off._

_Shauna took his arm and began pulling him to the bar on the second floor. "I got dumped and I want to bitch to you over a heaping glass of wine."_

"_You mean, another?" Naibun asked, holding freshly pressed towels in her arms. "Please take care, is all."_

_Shauna sighed in adoration, "So sweet, j'oo hire'er?" she asked her brother who shook his head, "You're no fun."_

Kinsei laughed, "I hope I never get that drunk." She had no idea that Naibun was working there, the ruse was going over well, as was the story.

She then recounted the moment she got the phone call from Duo. "It escalated pretty quick from there."

_In the midst of an argument as to who got the bottom of the wine bottle, the phone rang. "Hello?" Naibun answered._

_'...Hellooo~,' Duo said with a smile that could be heard over the line. 'Hey sweetie, do you know where Quatre is?'_

_She watched him roll on the floor with his sister, trying to pull the wine away from her. "He's busy at the moment, is there a message?" she did her best to sound sweet, but was so on edge. Quatre finally managed to pin Shauna down._

_'Busy? It's the middle of the night, isn't he asleep?' Duo sounded confused._

"_Y-yes, asleep," she said and slapped her forehead, she hadn't thought quickly enough. If only she was expecting a call so late, she'd have rehearsed._

_'...who is this?' he asked._

"_I'm Naibun, one of his housekeepers. Can I ask who's calling?" she said, trying to get Quatre's attention; the fight had moved into the hall and she couldn't follow it._

_'This is Duo, come on, put him on,' he whined._

"_Duo?" she said. This made Quatre stick his head in the room, silently he nodded and motioned his hand for her to invite him over. "You're one of his friends, right? Could you just...come over here?" she said suddenly._

_'Oh, what's going on?' he sounded more serious, 'Something up?'_

"_No...not really...is it possible for you to make it over? If not...I'm going to have to call my boss for help," she said with regret, almost on the verge of tears. She didn't want to have to call Iria, Quatre's older sister._

_'Naibun, hun, are you safe?' he was good at sweet talking the ladies, it was comforting._

"_I am," she said. It was working, his voice alone was calming her down._

_'Is Quatre safe?'_

"_He is," she said with doubt, the cord of the phone only went so far. Shauna went as far as she could to lose her brother too. These questions went on for a few more minutes until they unknowingly agreed to come help Quatre pry his sister off the sauce._

"_Get out of my room Shauna," Quatre pounded on the door. He had been locked out._

"_I have a key," Naibun said and let them in; how she wished she hadn't._

"_I'm so sorry," Shauna said, hand over mouth. "You can use my bed, if you want."_

_Quatre felt rage, but he contained it; she was drunk and didn't know any better. "It's okay, we'll flip it. Go lay down in the next room," he said and pointed her in the direction of one of the many guest rooms. It wasn't often he spoke sternly, but this was too annoying._

_Naibun stripped the bed and sent Quatre off to find his sister in one of the many guest rooms. He located her with the wine bottle and tried to take it from her. "You don't need anymore."_

"_Don't care," she said and sipped carefully on her half empty cup, holding the bottle away from him._

_"Cut this out," he said and tried to reason with her. It wasn't working, she wasn't listening, she couldn't. "My friends are on their way over."_

_She started listening, "Wait...what?" she said, sounding kind of worried._

"_Yes, you scared Bunni into asking for help," he said._

"_I'm sorry," Shauna said. "I hope she doesn't quit because of this. I can tell she likes you," she said and propped herself against the head board. "I'd quit if I had to deal with me like this." Shauna only drank on a couple occasions before, but never to such excess; her former boyfriend had meant so much to her, it was such a sudden shock._

"_She'll be fine. You get some rest to sleep this off," he said and put a hand around the wine bottle. "Please let me take this."_

_Shauna nodded and handed it off, "Go ahead. One condition," she pointed a finger at him, "You take the heat for this...pr'tend I'm not even here."_

_He sighed, not wanting to be embarrassed in front of his friends; if it was going to get her out of the bottle though, he was willing. "Alright, but no more of this. What if sis found out?"_

"_I'd be shipped back home," she said with no effort._

"_That's right. If you like Japan that much, do everything you can to stay here."_

"_But that's why Omar broke it off...he wanted me to stay home."_

"_Someone who forces you into making a choice, isn't the kind of person you deserve," he said sincerely._

_Shauna started crying, holding her brother's shoulders tight. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeated herself a few more times._

When she finally calmed down he laid her back, "_You're alright now, don't worry. Get some sleep." He got up with the bottle and cup._

"_Kay..." she lay still as he brother left the room, "Bro..." she said._

"_Yeah," he asked and leaned back in._

"_Bucket?" she said with a finger in the air, vaguely outlined from the light in the hall._

"_Hold on," he said and successfully got her a pail, which she successfully missed at first. Quatre's face flared a fiery red, "Let me guess, this one's my fault too?" She nodded from the rim of the bucket she had finally found. She needed a shower and the others would be arriving any moment. "I can't do it," he said to Naibun, not wanting to see his sister 'disrobed', as he put it._

"_I'll put her in...but I'll need help getting her out again."_

"_We can drape a towel on her then."_

"_Alright."_

"_You said you'd take the heat, don't go back on it," Shauna held her head up as they wheeled her to the second bathroom down the hall._

_Quatre left them at the door, "I'm going to the main bathroom, play it up like it was me the whole time, okay Bunni?"_

_Naibun gave him reassuring nod. "Do I mention her at all?"_

_He gave it thought, "Try not to...can we get away with telling one of them. I won't be able to carry you and she can't."_

"_I can live with __one__ of them knowing," Shauna said and took movement back into her own hands. She reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head._

_Quatre quickly shut the door, "Wait until I'm out first!" He sighed. Grabbing the wine he laid down earlier, he headed to the downstairs bathroom to 'assume the position'. It occurred to him that if they got there and he didn't appear drunk, Shauna's cover would be blown. He fought with the taste of the wine, but it got easier when he remembered his bus ride home. Chugging a few large mouthfuls of wine, he swish the last one in his cheeks. He coughed a bit. "Harsh," he said. After dumping a little in the bowl, to complete the illusion, he proceeded to straddle the fixture and wait for his friends._

"He even had to act really drunk when his friends showed up, it was quite a night. Lucky for us, his acting was good. He mimicked everything Shauna said and how she said it," Naibun said.

She and Kinsei chuckled at everything, even with the censorship still on. Naibun even told her the part when she fell into the tub with Shauna in an attempt to stop the girl from hitting her head. Naibun dove in the way and cracked her elbow on a tap hard, badly bruising it. She saw the mark in the mirror while changing, making her think about it again.

Before work, Naibun and Kinsei met up with their friends at a small fast food restaurant. They usually ate there after school. "I think I know how you lost weight," Kinsei said from behind a double burger.

"We learned how to cook and stopped eating here as much," Naibun said with a smile, making Kinsei smile back. Since she joined the swim team she hadn't been eating take-out as frequently.

"Not all of us know how to cook," one of her 'butt hurt' friends said, "Don't need to rub it in."

"I don't know how to cook that well," she said.

"You always cook. Stop being so modest, it's not becoming," one of the other girl's retorted. She didn't seem to be backed.

"Neither is being a snot. It's not her fault you're lazy and refuse to come to culinary class," Kinsei said and excused the two of them shortly after. Leaving the small group of friends behind, they set out on the sidewalk for the much needed space they required to finish eating. "Why do they always gotta' act like that?" her arms were slung behind her neck, elbows pointed outward after finishing.

"I suppose I do know how to cook, I should have said so," Naibun was beginning to regret her words.

"No you shouldn't have; don't feed that bullshit. We only have to put up with it for one more year, then we're free," she said with annoyance. "We're halfway done with this school, be patient." Kinsei was fed up with the snobby rich girls who gave Naibun a hard time. Most of them were dolls, but the few that snapped had teeth. It would have upset her less if they were doing it for a different reason, but Naibun had no control over her family's finances.

"Kinsei...thank you. You've made this school bearable," she gave her a smile.

"I try," she said and wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders, "I live by: The people who matter, don't care, and the people who care, don't matter."

"That's smart. Did you come up with it?" she asked.

"Nope; got it from one of my many inspirational books. I'd be a quivering pile of jelly without them," they laughed.

The 'pile of jelly' line reminded her of last Saturday as well. '_Poor Shauna, I wonder if she's feeling better_,' Naibun thought. She figured the bulk of her hangover was dealt with already, but the pain of breaking up with her boyfriend may have stuck around; even if she did already find herself a new potential man, three years was a long time to spend with someone.

Speak of the devil and he shall ride, "Hey!" a voice yelled to them. Turning around revealed Shauna coming toward them from across the street.

"What was the chance? I was just thinking about you," Naibun smiled. "How are you?"

"Good." After a brief introduction Shauna bowed down a bit more than casually, "I'm so sorry," she looked up, "This isn't gauche, is it?"

"You're doing fine," Kinsei said, "But looking up _while_ you're talking kinda' is."

She tilted her head back down, "Oops." She fixed it, "I need to apologize," she said and rose to an upright stance.

"I'm glad I helped," Naibun said.

"It's more than that, and I can't help worry a bit...but I also wanted to say thank you." She removed her phone from her purse and showed off a text from Trowa, saying he'd be meeting her shortly. She hugged the girl, "Thank you so much, you're the best housekeeper we ever had. I'm giving you a raise, I don't care what Iria says. See ya'." And she was off.

"Housekeeper?" Kinsei asked.

Naibun blushed, "I'm sorry, please don't be mad. Mother told me say I worked as a maid."

"Why not-oh, wait, don't tell me: She was afraid of what others would think," she raised an unamused eyebrow, only to see a nod. "Thought so. I was wondering who you got that from. Nice to see nerves are hereditary. What exactly happened last weekend?"

"I'll tell you if you promise not to say anything," she said.

"What do I tell you every time you say that?"

"...that...you gain nothing from telling anyone?" They laughed again. "Fine, I'll give you the short version," she said and spun the missing pieces of the story for her and what she knew of what happened between the two of them.

_Naibun was only granted permission to tell one of them, and telling a sober head seemed good. "I need help cleaning." Whoever was coherent enough would volunteer._

_"Clean? It's the middle of the night," Heero remarked, excluding himself from helping._

_"Normally, that's the case," she inhaled as she spoke. She looked up to Trowa, "You seem sober enough," she could tell they had all been 'into it' that night, he would have to do. "Could you help me?"_

_"Sure, with what?" Trowa asked._

_Naibun nodded, "I need to flip the mattresses. Could you two stay here and keep him company?" She looked to Duo and Heero, hoping Trowa would be the only one to follow her._

_"You do what you have to," Duo said and maneuvered closer to Quatre to comfort him. It looked like he wouldn't be helping either._

_Naibun let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. This way," she said and left with Trowa. When they were far enough away she said, "You need to keep this extra quiet. I can't lift her, she's too heavy for me." Naibun opened the door to the bathroom down the hall and water could be heard running._

"_Shauna, I brought help," she said and killed the shower. With a sheet, she wrapped up Quatre's sister and then plucked the toothbrush from her idle hand._

_Shauna was sat up. "I thought, brush teeth, a good thing for whoever got to carry you." She was really out of it._

_"Can you take Shauna to her bedroom?" she asked Trowa and tossed the pink dental appliance in a cup on the sink._

_His face turned pinker than it was before, "Sure." He didn't want to make it sound like he was looking forward to touching the nearly nude girl, though he sort of was, who wouldn't. Her petite frame was bound in a half soaked sheet, it wasn't enough to hide the feeling of her curves. He looped his hand beneath her knees and brushed bare skin, he wasn't too sure where at. "Sorry," he said hastily and readjusted his stance, finally able to lift her. She lay nestled in the crook of his arms._

"_I'm going to go flip the mattress, you're alright to carry her?" Naibun held the door and guided them to the safety of the hall._

_Trowa raised an eyebrow, "I thought you needed help?" Shauna's head flopped on his chest. Then again, he didn't want to sound like he was complaining either._

"_Both of them are light; I only needed help to move her. I have to get Quatre's bed set up, come find me when she's settled." They parted._

_He put it together in his head pretty quickly what happened to the beds, "Not feeling well?" He asked politely to ease the awkwardness of carrying the naked girl, he just met, in silence._

"_I fine now..." she said quietly. "Tell me, if someone really, really wanted to do something, but they had to move away to do it, would you be mad if they went there?"_

"_Depends," he was thoughtful, "Would they forget me?"_

_She smiled, "Nah."_

"_Then I wouldn't mind. I know many people who left home to follow their aspirations, I don't think I can name one of them who'd go back. Then again, circus folk have a different brand of passion than most." He was jabbering to keep her awake, it was working, she even pointed him to the correct room the first time._

"_You work for the circus? I've never been to one. Is it fun?" she asked and was laid back in a familiar bed, her own._

"_All kinds, you should come next time." He knelt down and propped himself up with his elbows. "The last show is this Saturday, why not come with me. I'm positive it'll get your mind off of things." He tugged her blanket to her chin._

"_How'd you know I had something on my mind?" she giggled sleepily, chestnut eyes slowly closing._

_He didn't, "Subtle hints. Goodnight," he said and left to go help Naibun._

Kinsei nodded, taking all the story in. "Nice...couple days away...you nervous?"

"Unbearably!" Naibun declared loudly on the bus, drawing a couple stares. She sunk down into her seat some. They sat in silence, allowing some people on and off the bus they boarded earlier. "Kinsei...remember earlier, when you called Quatre a 'Rich Bitch'?"

"You aren't still on that? I was kidding," she said.

"I know...I was curious...what would you have said if I agreed with you?" her question was profound.

So was the answer, "I'd have called you on judging him on his money."

* * *

For those of you who ever had the slightest query as to why I say _rollin'_ all the time, it's not because I love the ghetto(though I do live there); it is because I'm a Katamari fanatic! I've played and beaten every game! To death! I love them so much! XD I just got a chance to play 'Beautiful Katamari' and I wanted to gush! I never thought I'd get to play it because I didn't have the system, but my new roommate has an Xbox. I beat it in two days!

I'm in it for 'lulz', peeps. Lates!

**Thoughts to make you think...**

So you know:

-Naibun was me at the beginning of high school.  
-Kinsei was me by the end of high school.  
-Kumi was who I wanted to be.  
-Yumi was who I was afraid of turning into.  
-Missy is who I am now.

Self-insertion to the moon bitches! XD

But...it kind of shows you who I really am. Maybe my alt will be found out just like Naibun. Huh, maybe I haven't changed much after all. ;P

By the by, go to a translator and see what those Japanese'y names mean. I picked them in an amusing way. Give you a hint, Yumi's a 'straight shooter'.

*danceshappywithchapterdance*


	16. Chapter 16: Boop

I had to format my laptop! I lost everything I typed because the back-up disk didn't take. FML! DX

That's why you've been waiting so long. But no more! Provided my wrist doesn't swell up again, it should be smooth sailing from here on out...I'd cross my fingers, but that might cause a flare up in my wrist...I know, I'll cross my toes. *crosses toes* ...foot cramp! Fuck! Bad idea!

(Skip the italics for the meaty chapter!)

_Anyway, as for the 'self-insertion' bit at the end of the last chapter, did any of you wonder if I may have been basing them off my friends after all? I too idolized friends in school and wanted to be more like(some of) them. As a result, I started to act a bit more like that person. I didn't emulate them to a tee, but I took a lot of my personality from things I liked about them. In a way the OC characters are analogues of both me and my loved ones._

_In a small way, you can kind of map my personal growth. It's like my own way of keeping a diary. I'll never forget it, and as long as fanfiction dot net is here, I'll never lose it in the void that is my horribly cluttered apartment._

_Do you ever do this in your writing? It's fun. :)_

By the by, if you don't know who 'Judas' is, please goggle him. In chapter 12, Duo called Missy 'Judas, and I just realized that not everyone was raised a 'fire and brimstone Catholic' like myself. I'm proudly an atheist now, but I wanted to clear that up.

Huh, how many other religious undertones have I used that slipped past the radar? Silly radar of mine, why won't you 'blip'?! *chuckle*

* * *

**Chapter 16: Boop**

* * *

"You are _not_ backing out now." Duo's headache had passed and he was feeling better by days end. He was now looking forward to sitting in on the swim team's practice, but he wasn't doing it alone. "Pleeeease~?"

"We might throw off her concentration," Quatre said. He was fighting the current with a slowed down walk. He couldn't help it, it was his nerves.

"I'm sure she's used to preforming for a crowd; we ain't gonna' make a dent in her concentration." Duo had been impatiently circling Quatre for several minutes, trying to convince him to not bail on their plans. He laid a hand on the door handle, "For a few minutes? If not for you, do it for me," he said sincerely and held a hand over his own heart.

He sighed, "You're impossible. Let's go," he said and followed along. He knew Duo only wanted to ogle the pretty girls in their swimsuits; there was no harm in doing so, as long as he wasn't going to be creepy about it.

"Wow, looky-looky," he said as he watched the first team finishing up. They weren't the racing team, it was the synchronized swimmers group. "So many legs," he perched himself in a comfy spot on the bleachers. "I mean, I know those legs are always there...I just never get to see them from this angle." The group was holding one of their members up as they finished their routine; they kind of looked like a lotus flower when fully assembled.

"...what?" Quatre was spacing out as he scanned the area for Naibun.

"And here you didn't want to come along," he said with a sly glance.

Quatre then realized the implication of staring too deeply at such a location, it might be interpreted as checking someone out. He corrected himself, "I was seeing if Naibun was here."

"Killing two birds with one stone; I'm cool with that."

"You're assuming too much," he retorted. Unlike Duo, his _chick radar_ wasn't going full tilt all the time.

"Am I? Fine. Do you have any homework?" He flipped his bag open and took out a text book; he was going to have to multitask if he wanted to finish before home time.

"Some," he said and checked the bag at his side. The book he was looking for was there, but one other tome was missing. "Where's my calculus book?" he shuffled the contents of his bag around.

"We didn't have 'cal' today," he said and watched him dig some more.

"Duo, that was the one with the comic in it," he said with a nervous hush.

Eyes widened, "You didn't leave it in a class anywhere, did you? Think..."

Quatre thought deeply. Tuesday was quite a ride, so what he did after school was kind of fuzzy. "I'm pretty sure I left it at home."

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Woo, crisis averted."

"Mostly. I think I left it on the table in the hall." He had taken it out of his bag in the morning, to lighten the load he had to carry throughout the day. "If one of the staff sees it, I'll have a lot of explaining to do," he said with annoyance. He prayed Naibun wasn't the one to find it. "If Shauna finds it I'm done," he said, being fully aware of her aversion to smut.

"Is Naibun Working today?"

"Yeah. We'll have to wrap up here early and head home before she's on the clock," he said and went back to his notes. His concentration only lasted a short while; when the coach came out, he blasted on the whistle and began to bellowed his orders. "Is there something wrong with Mr. Griffith? He seems on edge today."

Duo nodded, "He's probably losing some of his team soon. I'd be bummed too."

"Really? How come?" He hoped Naibun wasn't planning on leaving her team. Every time he heard her talk about swimming, she looked so enthusiastic. Normally the girl was so quiet she didn't even make eye contact, it was good to see her light up from time to time.

"There zoning new areas and developing them. As far as I know, it's a new college and dorm they're putting in for now. A bunch of the students are getting signed to do the construction as job placement. As it lined up, a lot of the students going also happen to belong to teams as well." He knew all this because Heero was trying his damndest to get on that list as well, there was a long wait to get a spot. "I doubt we'll have a very good year, 'spirit' wise, around here."

"Can't the students still go to their team meetings?"

"Nope, construction is too far of a commute. It's on some island."

"Lots of openings for new athletes. Wouldn't those slots be for other people to join teams in their place?"

"It does, but do you really think a newbie could keep up with someone who's been training for, at best, two more years than them?" he said and looked over to the pool. "Yo, speaking of newbies, check out that one." He jerked his head lightly in the direction he wanted Quatre to look.

He looked down to the pool and saw Bunni. Her turquoise wet suit with yellow ties was hard to miss. "That's not standard issue, is it?" Quatre asked.

"I wish. Again, with the corsets," Duo shook his head, "I don't know why it hasn't caught on yet; those things need to 'trend'."

Quatre laughed, "Some days, I wish I could take a look inside your head. I'd like to know what goes on in there."

"Lots of stuff," he said and straightened his posture. "Who's her friend?" He watched her chase Naibun to the diving board.

"Not sure," he looked her over, "I'm sure we've passed her on the way out of calculus many times. I think she's in the class right after us."

"Really? Damn," Duo sighed, "Maybe we'll get a class next term."

"If you want to talk to her, do it while we're here today."

"No...maybe...who knows," he said and began to contend with his homework. Time ticked slowly.

"...Wait," Quatre said, "I thought you were chasing after Missy?"

He shrugged, "I like to keep my options open." After what he and Hilde went through, he wasn't ready to settle on anyone. Again, back to work.

Minutes later, yet again another question. Quatre was apparently a mind reader, not just a 'time reader'. "...What ever happened to Hilde?"

"That's..." he was struck for what to say right off; for once, he was the one who didn't want to talk. Duo was uncertain when he spoke, "She wanted to be serious and I told her I couldn't do it. I have to be a free spirit, able to chase tail, you know?"

Quatre could hear regret in his voice, "If that's what you wanted, go with it," he said. If he knew from the get-go that Duo still had doubts about his choice, he'd have kept quiet about Hilde. It was the perfect catalyst to send him into his own head. A dark place, if he wasn't totally mistaken; now, the trick was to backpedal.

"That's the thing, I'm not sure," he began, "I sorta'...wanted both...but I know that's not fair," he meant seeing Hilde and still flirting on the side. "I had to let her go," he said. In reality, it was the other way around, Hilde only made it feel like it was his choice.

"That's because you're a good person Duo. I'm sure you'll figure it out, there's no rush. We're only in high school, we've still got a long way to go." He gave his friend a reassuring smile.

It was a smile that was returned, "I really needed to hear that. Thanks, man."

"No problem." He was relieved, Duo hadn't turned to the dark side. Minutes of silence again, and then, "You know, maybe we should plan something at my house this Friday." Quatre was hoping that the prospect of a party would cheer him up. And it did.

He perked right up, "C-can we take the karaoke machine out again?" he said with a hopeful tone.

"Absolutely."

"Bohemian Rhapsody! Come on, one of us has to be able to hit that high note!"

"I can try. Is that your favourite song, or something?"

"Of course. Think about what the song's talking about, it's me!"

"My English isn't the best; I'm not too sure what the whole song means. Aside from the first few verses." He was fluent in Arabic and Japanese, English was a(difficult) work in process.

"Oh," he hadn't considered a linguistic gap. "I didn't know that. Well, the word 'bohemian' is talking about someone who lives as a nomad; like a gypsy; gypsy's are bohemian. A 'Rhapsody' is a very elaborate, over the top song. So it's an 'epic song for travelers'. And since I don't have much of a home right now, I'd say the title of 'bohemian' fits me well."

"My understanding was: The guy in the song kills someone and has to run and hide."

"From what I read, it's about Freddie Mercury's childhood and his relationships growing up. It's a little convoluted and he refused tto talk about it. Honestly though, it's what you take from a song that really gives it meaning; but either way, both interpretations kind of work for-" He saw Quatre's eyes quickly fix on something and he too turned to see it.

"I hate to cut you off," he said and saw Naibun laying at the edge of the pool, panting. He began to wrap up his books and materials.

"No worries," he closed up his books too, "Come on."

Before they could get to the ground floor, both could see Mr. Griffith running to her side. There was a box cutter in one hand and a clip board hanging out of the other. "What's he doing?" Quatre was about to panic until he saw him cut the string holding her chest fast.

Both of them jumped in shock when the string let loose. Duo grabbed Quatre's elbow to stop him from moving anywhere before he said, "One size up," from the 'comic book Naibun', he meant.

It took a moment for his mind to catch up, for his 'radar' bliped on for a second. He then turned back to Duo, "...can we make sure she's okay frist?"

"Look, she's sitting up, she's fine," he said and diffused the annoyance he saw in Quatre. He got closer so only Quatre could hear, "Ask her to go to the circus with you. Do it."

"...Hmm," he thought.

"Don't get cold feet."

"It's not that...I don't think we've ever spoken at school before. Heh, this'll be the first thing I talk to her about here." It seemed like a nice romantic gesture on his part, he was going to roll with it. Quatre leaned over the railing, "Don't push yourself too hard," his voice traveled across the barrier that was up for the audience.

They could see the two girls give each other a look. Kinsei poked Naibun's side from an angle that Quatre couldn't see, but not Duo, who smirked, "You got this," he said with a pat on the back.

Naibun blushed as she approached them, "The first time you come to see me swim and I nearly pass out. Aren't I classy?" her last words were nervously giggled.

"Classy? I'd say 'passionate'," he smiled, negating any worries she may have had.

They chatted for the full ten minute break. Duo and Quatre decided to let the girls in on their plans for Friday; they needed to run it by the rest of the guys, but there was definitely going to be a gathering happening on that day. Even if all of them couldn't be present, and even if it was only a handful of people, it would be perfect to unwind to.

Toward the end of their conversation Duo asked to be shown something in the coach's office, the request was abrupt and awkwardly out of place. But Kinsei played along nicely and brought him to Mr. Griffith's office; she wanted to give her friend a chance at this, apparently, as much as Duo did for his friend. They shared that fact and fist bumped, for they had succeeded in hooking their friends up.

For Quatre a moment alone with her was intense. He found it funny that when he spoke to her at his house, he wasn't nervous in the least, but at school, he was a bundle of nerves. "If you aren't busy this Saturday, you should come to the circus with me. A few of us are going and I've got an extra ticket." However, he was calming down quickly.

"I'd love to. Thank you," she said, "What time?"

"It's runs pretty late, Trowa expects it to go past midnight. Did you want to spend the night at the mansion? I can have a room prepared for you."

"...I'd...I'd have to ask my parents." Her mother and father knew she had one back shift a week, she wouldn't be able to swing a double sleepover.

"I'll call them for you. I'll tell them someone called off and we need more hands that night." Quatre's ESP was what was apparently going full tilt that day, not his 'chick radar'.

She giggled, "You'd do that?"

"Sure."

"Oh but...won't they notice if they see my paycheque?"

"Well, then, we'll put a little extra on it this week. I know Iria won't mind, considering what it's for."

This was technically her first date, and adding up all the money being spent to get her out there was far too generous. "I don't think I could ask you to do that."

"You aren't asking, I'm offering," he said.

Naibun hesitated, "Mom always told me to refuse money."

He raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"She said, if you accept charity, it makes people think you're poor."

"That's not true at all. My friend Wufei is putting Duo up for free; none of us think any differently of him because of it."

"Geez, that's so sweet of him...alright, I'm sorry. I accept," she said with a nod and light bow.

"Don't be sorry, it was my pleasure," he said with a hand wave, one that signaled Duo, "If I don't see you in the halls or at home, I'll see you Friday."

"Bye...see you." She waved as they left.

Quatre felt a weight lift as he walked with Duo. "I thought it was going to be harder than that."

"No way, she's into you. Easy peasy," he said, effectively brushing off the lack of confidence Quatre was pretending he had. He then noticed the contemplative look on the blond boy's face, "Stop that. It's going to be fine."

He snapped back to attention, "Oh, I'm not worried...it's just...never mind. It was a weird thought."

"Nah, come on. You said it out loud, that means you want to talk about it," he said with a playful air.

"Okay...Monday after school, I got some photo's developed and I tried to show them to Bunni while she was working. She was clapping some cushions together that made her inhale some dust, which made he start coughing. From watching her, I had a full blown panic attack," he tried to say it the same way it happened, plams up, signaling that he had no idea as to why it happened.

"_Muwahh_, you were worried about her," he said with exadurated sweetness.

He shook his head, "That's what I thought initially, but I don't know if that's it. Today, when she was at the edge of the pool gasping for air...nothing." He may have been anxious when he saw the blade that burst her bust open, but that bled out when he saw that it helped Bunni.

"Wha-did...then...that is kinda' weird...wait, were you alone when she was coughing?"

Quatre nodded, "Yeah," he said, "Other people were there today, maybe that's why."

"Who knows? But...you did ask her, right?"

"Yes. And because of the timing of things, I even invited her to spend the weekend at my place." This caused Duo to gasp, hand clasped over mouth, it slowly formed into a fist with his thumb sealing his lips. "The party on Friday, remember; I didn't mean it like that. She'll stay in a guest room." Duo snickered and Quatre shook his head, again, he was assuming. They continued walking, in silence. A few seconds later, Quatre snickered too, for his radar bliped again.

* * *

I had a friend ask me why I didn't pair Quatre up with Trowa.  
The answer was simple: Quatre's not gay.

There wasn't a single thing in that whole bloody series hinting that he had romantic feelings toward Trowa, nothing. If anything, he looks to him like a brother or war buddy. Normally I read into things way too much, and trust me, I was looking for signs. Since I grew up without internet(mostly), for the longest time I thought they were actually a canon pairing, namely because I missed a lot of episodes when it first aired. Imagine my surprise, as an adult, to go back re-watch everything to find out that all I knew was a lie! I got kind of attached this time and was even hoping to see some of it by the end!

That being said, after re-watching it, I think Trowa may be gay. I looked at his back story and how he grew up, then the way he carried himself throughout the series. It kind of makes me think, if not totally gay, a strong preference for men.

How do you guys feel about Trowa getting jealous over Naibun? Trowa's a nice guy too, how does he bottle that kind of stuff up?

Wait didn't I set him up with Quatre's sister? (sly)  
What's poor Trowa gonna' do? *eyes next victim*


	17. Chapter 17: Moving Ahead

I think I may draw my OC's...but I suck at drawing...and keeping my word...

I name this chapter in the spirit of the expanding pinpoint of light at the end of the tunnle we are calling this story arc.  
Yea, progress!

Ooh, did anyone wonder why the last chapter was called 'Boop'?  
It's the sound a radar makes when it pick up on something 'boop...boop...boop'.

lol

On with the show!

* * *

**Chapter 17: Moving Ahead**

* * *

"Why~?" Quatre asked, resting his head on the steering wheel. The vehicle crept along the road. It looked like everything that day was working against them. First it was road construction blocking the main roads in various places, detours abound. Then when Quatre tried to take the highway to get home quicker, they ended up getting stuck behind slow moving traffic. "She's going to be furious." He was far more afraid of his sister than of Naibun, but either of them stumbling across the 'art' would be yet another damper put on that day. He could feel the road rage building. Leaning out the window he yelled, "Don't you know what 'merge' means?! Come on!" and went back in.

Heero folded his arms, worried about the safety of Relena's car. "Why would you keep it anyw-you know, never mind. I don't want to know why you kept it." He was in the passenger seat of the borrowed car because, apparently, he was going to drive too slow.

Quatre sighed, "I kept it so we could track these guys, if need be." He also wanted to look though it once, if he finally got the nerve. The art was well done for a smut piece and he felt it would be just as bad as peeping on Naibun in the locker room.

"I have to believe that," Duo said from the back seat, "If not, then why'd I keep this?" He held up the book he was in; he didn't look through it either, but for a different reason.

Heero pushed Duo's hand back to the back seat. "Put that away," he said with annoyance. He had been targeted twice now and they still had no leads on who was pulling the strings. It was beginning to get to him. The only thing they had to go on was what the media committee said: Two kids broke in. That's all.

"Maybe the kids are the ones doing it," Duo suggested.

"Doubt it; there's still the matter of the registry," Heero said.

"What about the guy from yesterday? Do you think he's even going to come back to school?" Quatre was referring to the person he punched; how he felt pride and guilt all at once was going to confuse him to no end.

"Eventually; he knows we know his name and address. We'll have to question him when he does come back. There hasn't been any other transfer requests, so that's a relief. At best he's laying low," Heero scoffed, "Or laying in a hospital bed." He recalled the guy's face at the end of the encounter, it looked like he had a broken cheek bone.

"Don't remind me," Quatre said. He was then cut off by another car, making his hand jerk the steering wheel in a painful way. "That's it," he said and revved the engine high. The car picked up speed quickly and they took to the edge of the road. They peeled onto the shoulder and surpassed the large truck in a barrage of dust.

"Quatre?!" Heero yelled in disbelief.

"The hell man?!" Duo was now sitting all the way back and frantically getting his seat-belt on.

Without a sound, other than the squeal of tires, he pulled back on to the road. They were now going twenty clicks faster than their original speed and leaving the truck way behind. "..." Not even a minute down the road and a siren sounded with a few red lights flashing.

Heero looked behind them, "I saw that coming," he said and Quatre began to slow down.

When stopped he turned to Heero and Duo, "Sorry guys." They didn't look angry, they looked scared; he'd have preferred it if they were cross with him instead.

Duo caught his breath, holding a hand over his racing heart, "You aren't allowed to drive when you're in a bad mood," he said, "_Ever_."

Heero chimed in with, "Did you make that doctor's appointment yet?"

Quatre lowered his vision to the phone now resting in his palm, "Doing it now." He began texting his sister, the one in charge of keeping track of all the numbers they might need.

"This is going to make it worse," Duo said with a thumb hooked behind him, "That truck pulled off right after you did all that."

Quatre looked into the rear view mirror. Not only did he see the truck using the off ramp, he saw the officer pull his notebook out. "Ah...damn," he said and rested his head back, ready to face the music. He figured he'd best get used to it, since he was probably going to have to do it again when he got home.

Back at the Winner mansion, Naibun had invited Kinsei over to keep her company as she worked. Since her cover had been blown and because it was a short shift, having her friend sit around to talk with was no problem with the boss lady. "I have to finish the guest rooms if we're having people over," she said and laid her bag down near the coat rack. "Look at that, not even a few feet in the door and it begins," she said with a smile. There was a loose book hanging around on a side table. Naibun quickly scooped it up to bring it back to Master Qautre's room.

"This place is huge," Kinsei said as she admired the interior. "Even with construction going on, it's so pretty." There were tarps down in the corner and cans of unopened paint were laying about.

"Quatre said his sisters use this place as their 'project house'. Whenever one of them gets some spare time, it gets redecorated. It's the best hobby I've ever seen." The Winner family was an interesting and creative mix of vibrant talent; not only were they successful mining contractors, but interior designers, label makers and chef's as well.

"I can't wait until I have a house of my own. I'll sit back one day and go 'Oh...I'm bored of the ceiling. Time for a new one'." She peered down the hallway to see a door that had been left ajar, within, a pool table. "Heh," she snickered as she remembered the work she had completed.

"Well, it's no ceiling, but we got new carpet in my house last week." Her folks were renovating too, they were prepping the house for the winter months. "You haven't seen it yet, have you?"

"No, I haven't been over since I got back."

Naibun walked with her friend to Quatre's room, she needed to put the book away before all else. "I'll have to invite you over soon. I know you've only been back a day, but it's so fluffy, you have to see it before it gets walked all over."

"Don't worry, you won't run me nearly as hard as Mr. Griffith." She heard something hit the floor, "You dropped...something..." It looked familiar, too familiar.

"Hmm?" They looked down. That 'something' had fallen out of the calculus book. Naibun's eyes went wide with horror, "Kinsei...did you bring that?"

"Nope..." Kinsei asked and reached down and picked up the comic. No wonder it looked familiar, she'd seen it before, months ago. "Did you?"

"No..." Naibun shared a look of horror with her friend. "...how did it get here?" She checked the front of the text book, his name written on the inside cover. "It's his book...I thought you only made one copy of this." Naibun said and plucked the familiar material away from her friend's hand. "Is this the 'slanderous art piece' they were talking about?"

"Slanderous? I put my heart into that," Kinsei looked hurt, confused, but still hurt.

"I didn't call it that...I guess you haven't heard, have you?"

Kinsei's expression brightened, "Bunni's going to give _me_ gossip? Where's the calendar?" She comically looked around for a place to mark down such an auspicious occasion.

"I wouldn't go and call it that." Naibun disliked gossip so much that she did her best to tune the rest of the world out, when they weren't talking to her. This was the time she wished she'd have stepped up and listened in. "On Monday, someone put out a comic of his friend Heero."

"Heero Yuy? Yeah, I just finished it. What do you mean 'put out'?" Her worry was peaking.

"That was yours? Kinsei, it got leaked and cycled around the school before first period."

Dread overcame Kinsei, "Bunni, I keep all my work on my thumb drive. A thumb drive that-that I found in Kato's room a couple days ago! He told me he had no idea what it was..." she said, wearing an expression of 'murder'. "...I've always wanted to be an only child." She immediately took out her phone to let her parents know about the breech of security. "He's dead...dead...just..." Her mother replied to the text in a timely fashion; '_Will do_' was all it said. "...good."

"I guess this is the second one they were talking about then," she said and looked at the book that held the thinly bound pages. "If I thought I'd actually get a chance with Quatre, I wouldn't have even had this made."

"We need to tell them."

"Why?"

"I need to clear my name!"

"Are you crazy? Heero held the school hostage trying to figure out who did it!"

"Really?"

"Yes. Complete lock down!"

"...He didn't account for me not being there, did he?"

"I don't think so. They think this was done as an attack, a personal one."

"I knew that 'cue stick' thing was a little much," she said with a frustrated finger snap.

"A bit!" Naibun paced the floor, comic in one hand, calculus in the other. "They even went to the other school to see if they could find whoever did this."

"All they're going to find is people who've put in commissions and some inkers; none of which would know anything about me." Kinsei prided herself on remaining anonymous, her web site was her hub for business so no one knew her name or face.

"They still rough housed some of the students. Even Quatre got involved, his hand was all swollen and bruised when he came home yesterday." She cringed at the thought of kind, sweet Quatre lashing out violently; it was a hard thing to imagine.

She remembered seeing a bandage on Quatre's hand when they were speaking after school; she must have been telling the truth. "They only think it's an attack because they don't know the real reason the comics came to be. We'll tell them, it'll be a chuckle, I'm sure they'll find it amusing..." the girls looked at one another in silence. The seconds ticked by. Long. Silent. Seconds. "...when's the next shuttle leave?" Kinsei was ready to give up on all she'd worked for, hop the bus and skip town because of this.

"No...you're right. They were for personal use, not meant to get out or hurt anybody. This was a big mistake and we need to tell them about it."

"Noble," Kinsei said and solemnly nodded, "You're going to tell your squeeze you had a naughty comic made of the two of you? Props. Tell me, did you buy those balls, or did they grow overnight?"

Naibun froze in those words, "..." she looked at her feet, "...I think the next shuttle leaves in a few hours...now my feet are sore," and she'd just begun the four hour shift. "This is going to be a bad day," she said, even though it was still the same day Quatre had asked her out. This could very well ruin any chance she had with him.

"Now, this may make it worse..." Kinsei raised her friend's hand with the closed text book, "But what if he was marking a specific page with it?"

She looked down to see her stupid hand holding the stupid book shut. It was official, Naibun had died; she had to have, because she was in hell. "Kinsei, I think I may have shot myself in the foot."

"Musta' hurt," she chuckled. "If we can take nothing else from this," she took the articles from her friend and combine them once again, "It really shows how much weight you lost." She was right, the book was made before Naibun even joined the swim team.

She wasn't very overweight at the beginning of the year, she called it fluffy, like her new carpet. "That's great! Now I can crawl into an even tinier hole when I curl up to die."

"Don't be so dramatic. I'll take the heat."

"How?"

"I'll say I made it for myself. It'll take the heat off you and-," she snickered, "-put the heat 'between us'. As far as they know, I made it without your knowing."

"Are you sure? Thank you Kinsei," she said and gave her friend a well deserved hug.

"Don't worry about it." Kinsei was so relieved that all was going to be resolved, she decided to pitch in and help with the cleaning effort. The day began to look a little brighter. "Hold the phone," Kinsei had an epiphany, "If he found this yesterday, how come he still has it? Shouldn't he have destroyed it?"

Naibun shrugged, "Maybe they were using it to track down the artist."

"With no names or dates? Nah, that's not the reason the book's still here." She smirked, "Looks like he's as guilty as you are."

Naibun blushed, "Don't say that! He wouldn't-"

"-Do something every guy does?" Kinsei rolled her eyes, "He's a dude, not a saint."

"...this is the whole 'don't judge a book by it's cover' speech again, isn't it?"

"Shortened, but essentially, yeah."

Naibun hesitated, but nodded, "...I think I'll tell him myself. I'll be totally honest about it."

"I'll be here for you...I will _probably_ laugh when you tell him, but I'll **be** here," she said and took her friend's shoulders, "And that's the important part, right?"

Naibun inhaled slowly, and then looked at her watch, "Two and a half hours for the shuttle...I can make it if I start running now."

"Or we can say I did it. If it'll Keep those nerves of yours from getting any more frayed Bunni, it's cool with me." It was going to be hard, but she would stick by her friend. "You've been there for me, it's the least I can do."

"Don't worry about it; remember, you said it yourself: I've got this." Naibun was determined to tell him. On her own.

* * *

There you have it. I was going to beat the dead horse a little longer, but he kind of looks like hamburger...so...next chapter, the wrap up! XD

What did you guys think?


	18. Chapter 18: Full Circle

Crap the bed uncle Fred! I uploaded something!

Enjoy the chapter, I have a feeling you'll like it. :D

Funny thing about this chapter, I just took my sleeping pill an hour or so ago, and I may not remembering uploading this in the morning...I'm writing myself a note now to remind me to go over it again...but I may lose the note. (I did forget uploading it, and a line I wrote within, lol)

**_C__offee with Starla_**: "_Hey, sit down and have a drink with me. *sips drink* We're going to talk about the chapter before it happns. I'll do some recaps here next time and help keep you questioning motives. And who knows, maybe I'll get you to read behind the lines I write."_

_"For now, remember the gaps you saw in this story so far, some as far back as chapter two, ALL had significance. But, were they important to you then? Why not? It seems like that 'one thing' that went on behind the scenes dictated a lot of the drama that ensued. Like the phone call between Naibun and Duo a few chapters ago, that wasn't what you thought? And do you think 'goodnight' was all Trowa said to Shauna?"_

_"And...why hasn't Missy met Trowa or Wufei yet?"  
~SQ~_

I want to show you how connected everthing and everyone is.  
This is just the beginning.

Enjoy...

Wait, didn't I say that up there? Oh well, you can acutally start reading it now, I'm done...

* * *

**Chapter 18: Full Circle**

* * *

They were making good time and nearly to the front door of the mansion. The car was an awkward quiet. Quatre had been permitted to finish the ride home only because he'd been let off with a warning. The cop apparently had watched them try to overtake the larger vehicle on several occasions, only to get cut off every time; and what with Quatre's last name being 'Winner', he wasn't willing to be the guy who wrote the boy's very first ticket. The highway did lead them to the top of the hill where Quatre lived, though they would still be showing up late because of the traffic now.

"...we can't just come out and ask him," Duo broke the silence the tense passengers were holding.

"You're going to have to tell us more than that." Heero was certain there was a lot of background dialogue to Duo's statement, he required the rest of the thought to continue the conversation. This usually happened when Duo spent a lot of time in his own head; he'd have to keep an eye on him, lest he slip to the dark side.

Duo filled them in. "Trowa. We've got to find a way to get him to karaoke with us."

"This again?" Heero rolled his eyes.

"Why not ask him outright?" Quatre wondered, "He performs all the time. I'm sure he'll have no problem with it."

"There's a chance he'll clam up if we just ask." He felt this was evident because of Heero's initial response to being confronted with a request to sing the day before. He tried to back out right away. "We'll have to do it subliminally; kind of steer the conversation so it makes him think about wanting to sing."

"You're crazy," Heero dismissed it.

"See! You're stealing my thunder before the clouds even roll in! Trowa's the only one who I haven't got to sing with me yet."

"You're saying Wufei's has?" Quatre found that hard to believe.

"You bet he has! When we were trapped in the lunar base it was the one of two things we could do for entertainment, schematics or scales. I thought the guards heard us howling away and shut the air off to keep us quiet," he laughed when he remembered how insulted he felt. "We're not bad. I bet the five of us would have a great harmony."

"Tell me, why is this is significant to you," Heero couldn't help but be amused at Duo's passion to get them all together for this.

"Nah, it's not really," he said and flopped back fully in his seat. "I guess it makes me feel nostalgic."

"About what?" Heero asked.

He smirked and said, "I think you know." He sounded catty.

"Afraid I don't."

"Since Quatre's in on this too, I guess there's no harm in telling him." He sat forward, "We were on our way back from some job a couple years ago and this guy buzzes in while I'm singing away to myself."

It clicked with Heero, "I remember that. He wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed to sing in return," he shook his head. "And I don't think so...you said it was nostalgic back then too."

Duo hadn't expected that to get thrown back in his face. He narrowed his eyes in an annoyed expression, "How do you remember things like that?"

"It's a talent," he said, "Why's it nostalgic?"

"You seem to have a look of regret," Quatre said as he caught Duo's expression in the rear view mirror. He hoped this didn't have anything to do with Hilde.

"Not so fun having your friends poke into your personal life, is it?" Heero finally cornered him.

Not liking the 'corner' idea so much, "It's not personal," he said, trying to avoid the rest of the conversation.

"Then," he said and leaned back, "What does singing mean to you, Duo?"

"..." Duo folded his arms, "Well...as a kid, we used to sing...at church."

Heero sat back, he could see he was telling the truth, "That's no fun."

"What?" Duo was outraged, "I open up to you guys and you say that?! You suck!"

He laughed, "I didn't say I wasn't interested, I said it wasn't any fun. I thought I'd get some ammunition."

"Oh..." Duo laughed, "How could 'song' become ammo?"

"It could have had something to do with a girl," Heero commented.

"Well, it's got nothing to do with any of them," he sounded smug.

"You say that...but is it true?"

Quatre decided to antagonize as well, "Have you ever sung with a girl?"

"No," he said, getting kind of nervous now. It didn't go unnoticed. "Seriously, it's not a 'thing'. I would if I got the chance." They pulled up to the front door of the mansion. The lights were all out and the gray day gave the large house a spooky countenance.

Inside its walls, only moments earlier, "I take it back! I can't do it!" Naibun said from within a broom closet.

"We have to!" Kinsei was trying to jimmy the door open to get her out before Quatre got home. She halted her attack, "They're going to find out anyway; best they find out by means of you."

There was a pause, "Can't I wait until after the circus?" The lock clicked open. "Let me go out with him once, _before_ I make him think I'm some sort of creepy stalker," she said as she slowly opened the door.

"That's fair...but, isn't that sort of what you've been doing?" She was referring to all the times she sat in the gym listening to Quatre play piano without his knowing.

"I was admiring him from afar!"

"Good ol' rationalization."

"I never followed him anywhere, it wasn't stalking," she wined.

"It wasn't? So, you just got a job working here on coincidence," she teased.

"I heard him talking about the opening as he passed by _my_ classroom. Fate rewarded me with a chance _because_ I didn't ever follow him home! I even cut class to drop off my application that same day-hour," she quickly corrected herself. She knew that traveling there during class time was the only way she could avoid a run in with Quatre. The more she looked back on it, the more she wished she'd have commented on his skills earlier at school. It might have lessened the blow of having to tell him 'this' now.

Kinsei shook her head, "You and your fate," she said as the front door lock began clicking. "Did you put the book back?" Kinsei had to double check.

"Yes. It didn't fall out of the bigger book, I never seen it, I know nothing, neither do you," she quickly went over the key elements of their ruse.

"And if they call us on it?"

"...We come clean."

"No prob," she said and hoped she hadn't dug a grave for her and her friend. They stayed around the corner to let the guys settle in first, Quatre hadn't come home alone that day.

The three guys were all in the house, removing shoes and jackets when Naibun said, "Shhh, be cool," and went about her business, all 'natural-like'.

"That coming from you-?" she said, trying to contain her laughter at her friend's hypocrisy; Naibun sure had her moments of spontaneity. She could hear them talking about security cameras and the like, it struck a nerve in Kinsei, "Bunni...I don't think we're going to be able to hide this at all."

Naibun stopped, only able to hear bits and pieces of what the guys were saying. "How so?"

"They've got a hot trail; they're talking about getting camera footage from outside the school," she said and wrung her hands nervously.

"Kinsei, they're going to see your brothers face and trace it right back to you," Naibun pointed out.

She snapped a finger, "...I know, we'll do what you did last Friday. Only tell 'one' of them. That should lessen the blow."

Naibun thought, "Maybe...but which one? I wish Trowa were here, he was really reliable last time..." And his voice was soothing, like Duo's over the phone that same night; though Duo may not have been in the best of spirits right then, since he was _in_ one of the comics. No soothing voice for Naibun.

"Why not Heero? He seems like the next logical 'go to'. He's even in my law class, he's got to be rational enough to get where I was coming from." If she explained what she did and why, he'd understand, she was sure of it.

"...I'm not going to be able to look Quatre in the eye after this. I hope you know that." She held her arms tightly, squeezing them in anxiety.

"Just remember: I made that book for you as a surprise. You didn't even know it existed until it was made," she said, making the lie more authentic. "Come on, you can commit to this."

With one final draw of breath, Naibun lightly nodded saying, "_We've_ got this."

"Right." As the trio came down the hall, Kinsei stepped out of the guest room, she shut the door and isolated herself from her friend. Naibun was nearly finished cleaning in there and only had a couple more rooms to go. It was the perfect time to get one of them alone to speak with.

"You're the girl from earlier," Duo said as he caught a quick glimpse of the side of her face. He almost didn't recognize her without her swimsuit on.

"Yes, hey, I'm Kinsei," she said and waved a single time, holding the hand up in place.

"Is Naibun here too?" Quatre asked and approached with the others.

Her hand turned to a thumb, "Yeah, she's busy, she's cleaning up for the weekend. You guys excited? Let's keep on walking..." she pointed for them to proceed in the direction they were heading, her quick speech not arousing any interest.

"I can't wait," Duo said and they continued walking to the bar room, the new assumed hang out location. He let them know just how hyped he was for karaoke; to which Kinsei concurred. She agreed to duet with him; effectively sticking it to his two friends.

When there was enough distance between them and Naibun, "Before we sit down, can I talk to you," she said and turned to Heero. "I need to tell you something about those comics."

"Come again?" he asked and turned straight toward her, curious as to why _this_ girl knew anything_._

"I know some stuff...can we talk one on one?" she said awkwardly.

Heero held his laptop bag in front of Duo in silence, "I'll be back." His friend took the bag and he began his stride to speak with this girl in private.

She led him to the billiard room, "Heh, I should have picked a better room."

"All of it, right now," he said, "Was it you?" He could see the girl's agitation. Her eyes looked scared as they frantically looked around for 'something' to anchor herself on; maybe that 'something' was going to make her less rigid. "Sit," he instructed.

"Okay," she said and sat across from Heero, on the arm chair that crowded around the low coffee table with the other furniture. "I was the one who made them, but it's not an attack on you. I would never-"

"Then why didn't you come forward on Monday?"

"-I was gone with my team, you can ask coach. Bunni told me about the whole 'hostage' situation. And let me say 'bravo', it's nice to know who's in control of the school when push comes to shove."

"Enough butter," he disregarded the flattery, "Answers."

Kinsei steadied herself in front of her idol. "You see," she began to explain the whole thing to Heero. How this all got started because her younger brother stole something that was supposed to be for personal use, as she called it; they both knew what that meant, the euphemism said it all. "I've done this since middle school to get extra spending money...and...I'm sorry...I don't plan to stop," she said with a wince. Heero remained silent. "...hmm?" She could see he was deep in thought.

"As long as it remains confidential, fine...but then...who requested the first comic?" he asked. Though he was pleased the whole ordeal was taken care of without him even trying any further, he still wanted to know who peeped on him for the material in the first place.

"I can't tell you their name, it would compromise my business. We've got everything under control now, isn't that good enough? This is my only source of income for now." Kinsei pleaded for the safety of her company.

"...there's no harm in it continuing, so long as you keep a better tab on your storage devices. I guess there's no way I can tell you to keep it all on pen and paper, is there?" he asked and sat back.

"If I could do it as quickly as I need to, you know I would."

"Alright."

"And don't worry, my mother and I took care of Kato." Kinsei called her sibling earlier and told him her revenge plan. She intended to generate an emasculating six page comic of the boy chasing and catching butterflies. She swore she'd drop off a copy to the boy's crush at school if he ever tried to pull a stunt like that again. Her message was heard loud and clear: None of her work was to be exploited again. "He won't be touching my material, ever," she said with an evil smirk.

"That's good. Still...who could it have been?" Heero pondered as they walked back to the bar room to let the others know. He knew it had to have been someone who was at the banquette, but who could have gotten close enough to know how their whole pool game went? It was creepy, enough to make him shiver.

Kinsei laughed, "I'll tell you this. Whoever it was: They had so much fun that night, they didn't even remember requesting the comic in the first place."

Heero shrugged it off, "Whatever. I'm glad it's been put to bed." Before Heero laid a hand on the door handle leading to his friends, he froze, "Per request? That means...the second one was a request from-"

"It was all me," she said hastily, "Bunni said she liked him a the beginning of the year and I made it as a gift. For Bunni..." she said and awaited the results of her white lie.

"..." He could tell she was lying just by the way she repeated herself. "You're a good friend." He admired the fact she took the heat for the whole ordeal.

Kinsei could see his eyes narrow and blink slowly at her, he hadn't believed her. "I try," she said regardless.

Little did Heero realize, he was the one who actually requested the comic.

_During the night of the banquette, Relena had just finished leading Heero away from their pool game. She saw Quatre and Duo sitting together and she knew she needed to take Duo around to find a date as promised. They were going to be a few minutes. Quatre agreed to the task of babysitting an inebriated Heero until the braided wonder had a woman._

_He watched his friend glare uselessly around the room and then mutter something. "What?" Quatre asked, unsure if he had heard anything at all._

_"Look," Heero said and laid his chest flat across the table. Sliding forward some, he was now closer to the centerpiece. No. He was the centerpiece. "Shhh, I'm flowers," he said and peered through the bouquet._

_Quatre tried to pull him off the table. "Would you stop?"_

_"Is she out cold?" He was referring to Dorothy as he peaked through the perenials. Without warning, he went over top of the table, perfectly, and sauntered on over to the semi-conscious blond._

_"Heero?!" Quatre was left to go around the table and weave through the crowd, like a normal sober person._

_He made his way quickly. "How y'doin'?" he slurred and leaned over her._

_"Hmm?" Dorothy asked and allowed her head to fall toward the side the noise was coming from. She had downed one too many glasses of brandy and was feeling woozy. "Wha~?"_

_Heero was there with purpose, he felt he had to do something in such a situation. He sat on the small loveseat with her and scooched in close, "Did ya' drink too much?"_

_"I believe so," she said and rested an arm across her eyes. Was he here to ridicule her or something? She wasn't up for it._

_Quatre managed to catch up with him; for someone who was drunk, he moved like lightening. "What are you doing over here?" he still didn't process what was going on with Dorothy._

_Heero slinked an arm behind her saying, "Then you probably don't realize you're doing this," he said and leaned across her body. Effortlessly, he scooped up a leg with his free hand, in the same way he did to Relena earlier. Though he wasn't looking for any affection, it still made Quatre momentarily panic. He slung that leg of hers over the other one, "Don't do that in a dress, everyone had a clear view."_

_With a larger blush than before, "Thank'y'so much," she said and grabbed him, pulling him into an unexpected hug. Heero toppled all over her** softness.** "I should give you a treat for being such a gentleman," she said in a sultry(drunk) way._

_Heero pulled himself from betwixt her bosom, "I already got treated tonight, thanks though," he laughed as he stood up with Quatre's sturdy ar__m._

_"You did? D-don't go! You have to tell me all about it-all that there is to tell me, tell me now," she asked and sat up. Every fiber of her moral being told her not to miss a word of this._

_"We have to go," Quatre said._

_Heero waved a dismissive hand at him, "Don't worry," he said and began babbling the whole ordeal in great detail to Dorothy. He was set down again by the antsy Quatre; who couldn't stand still the whole time and did nothing but play 'lookout'._

_Dortohy was all over his leg, rubbing it and tapping it when an 'exciting' part happened. When he finished the story, "That sounds magical!" she exclaimed. "I-I need to-I need to send this to a friend. She can make it all into a comic and that'll be'a'way, you can always look back on it and have it-have a memory from-a memory...of it."_

_"Yes, do it!" he said with enthusiasm._

_Dorothy held her cell phone directly above her face, head tilted back, as she texted away. "I'll send her jot notes, she'll get the jist."_

_"Heero?" Quatre fully came back, "Come on, Relena's getting closer again. I think she found someone for-what are you doing?" he asked as he now saw Dorothy furiously tapping away at her phone with Heero watching along right beside her cheek._

_He was instructing Dorothy, "Don't go there...forget about that part and put 'that' in instead..." he said and pointed to one part of the message. He was helping her write up a brief story board that put the original scenario to shame. "Nothing," he said to Quatre and took a hand up, "Let's go."_

_"That's my line," Quatre said and led them back to the table Relena left them at. He sat the two of them down too quickly for Heero to handle and he slipped out of his seat. Fortunately, he was righted in time and didn't fall. "Don't run off like that, you need to stick around here," he said and used his peripheral vision to see Relena toting Duo around. "She's almost back around again," he said because he could even hear her now._

_"Make it quick, he's slipping," Relena said, having seen Quatre catch Heero before he fell. The expression on Quatre's face looked as though he heard something incoherent as he sat him up straight._

_Heero said something to him in a hush that made Quatre's brow furrow in confusion. "I'll be sure to keep that to myself," he said with a slight shake of his head. What Heero said was: Don't tell Relena I touched Dorothy's leg._

* * *

HA!

How's that for a twist?

Because of my meds, I don't remember writing the line 'shh, I'm flowers' line, so I died laughing when I read it for the first time. XD  
Oh zopiclone, you scamp!


	19. Chapter 19: Our Heero is Only Human Pt1

Two parter.

I'll upload the other one tomorrow.

That was quite a wait wasn't it?  
Here's a quick recap so you don't have to backpedal.

Last couple chapters...  
- Heero and Duo have a comic made of them on the bus driving home the night before.  
- Quatre asks Naibun out for the weekend and they devise a plan to tell her mother that she's working overtime.  
- The people who were making comics ended up being a couple kids stealing Kinsei's work.  
- She let Heero know about her operation and he was cool with it so long as she better managed it.  
- Turns out, Heero was the one who got Dorothy to put in the request for the comic of he and Relena, but neither of them remember doing so.  
- Quatre nearly had a ticket for reckless driving when they were heading home to make sure the second comic wasn't found. (It was, but Naibun and Kinsei hid that fact.)

And now we're here.

* * *

**Chapter 19 – Our Heero is Only Human: Part 1**

* * *

Heero told the others that Kinsei was speaking on the author's behalf, and that she was letting him know about the lost memory stick. It had since been retrieved and things should go back to normal; it was a white lie that totally took the heat off both girls. They were relieved. Quatre was happy with the conclusion, but Duo still fished for more answers. Eventually it was water under the bridge.

The conversation with Kinsei calmed Heero's mind; if only it had been there at the beginning of the day. She was lucky to be a good speaker, he was ready to verbally launch at her if she hadn't said what she did, how she did. Even though it was embarrassing and balancing precariously on the cusp of being creepy, he knew there was nothing he could do to stop her; at least the leak had been patched. He contemplated handing her a 'cease and desist' order, but he couldn't bring himself to hinder a small business. One of his friends was going down a similar career route, so he had a certain level of sympathy for her.

His stress was still amounting. There was this thing on Friday. The thing with Relena on Saturday. The thing with the circus that same Saturday night. Then there were a few things due next week that had barely been started. So many things.

After a short while of making phone calls, the girls left for the day. A few numbers yeilded a lot of success. Kinsei happened to have Dorothy Catalonia on her phone list, so it was a matter of calling her and two others to get a decent guest list.

Heero closed up his work, he couldn't go on. No longer caring about any outward shows of fatigue, he held his forehead, it _did_ feel warmer.

Quatre noted the discomfort right away. "What's wrong?" Heero hadn't looked well at school either(hence the reason he wasn't the one who ended up behind the wheel of Relena's car on the way home that day). Quatre had driven the car to school in the morning too; it was left at the mansion Tuesday night, after Karaoke.

"I'm exhausted." Heero had even fallen asleep in a random location around the school earlier that morning. The nap ended up having no effect for he was prematurely awoken. The one who gave him rise was only asking if he was alright, but Heero chewed him out anyway. He must have been getting sick, it was the only reasonable explaination as to why he was snapping at people so much lately. He felt a little too high strung because of what went on at school that week to boot. '_It's over_,' he reminded himself. "It's this headache, I can't seem to shake it."

"Do you think it's because of last night?" Quatre asked.

"Possibly; I've been like this all day. I might be getting a cold." He initially assumed it was a hangover, but it was nearing the end of the day and he still wasn't up to par. The alcohol must have weakened his immune system.

"You aren't bailing on this party, are you?" Duo insisted he not.

"Well I need something to take the edge off then. Quatre, I hate to ask, but do you have any painkillers?" He still had papers to finish writing, he needed his head in the game as soon as possible if he was too keep all his commitments.

"I may have something. Come downstairs with me," he said. They ended up in a kitchen. Shauna was off in the corner entertaining herself with something, they carried on without bothering her. "None of us have been sick for a while, the supply is kind of low." He pulled up a chair and balanced himself on the seat to reach above and beyond one of the many refrigerators in the room. "...this one's an anti-inflammatory...but it's also got a decongestant and an anti-emetic. You do cover all the bases if you're feeling under the weather," he said and handed down the package.

Heero could feel the blood circulating in his temples as he reached his arm up to take the box. "How many do I need to take," he said and read over the package with the blister pack of pills. "It's got a lot of antihistamine, it'll make me too drowsy. Anything else?"

He checked. "You may not want to go for this one, it tastes like eucalyptus," he said and flashed a brown bottle.

"Good call, I'll pass," he cringed, looking a little more green than before.

"...this is..." Quatre read the side of the bottle, "This is penicillin, not taken to the end," he said and looked over to Shauna, gently josteling the pills around in the bottle. She crouched down, hoping to avoid the attention. He put it back. "...Here, this should be alright," he said and grabbed another bottle, "It's cherry, if I remember correctly."

Shauna perked up, "It's also got kick," she said. Hastily finishing up what she was doing, she tucked it away in a _small wicker box_. What everyone else was into seemed far more interesting.

"Getting rid of the headache is all I'm concerned about."

"This one has a little less anti-emetic in it," Quatre read the medical ingredients.

He took it in hand and skimmed it, "And this is the only alternative?" He saw his friend nod. "..." Heero calculated it silently; a dose and a half would suffice. "Twenty three milliliters of this should be plenty," he said and turned to Duo, who now had his top half bent over in the nearest fridge. "Could you drive me back into town?" There was no getting away from feeling a little drowsy on any of the available medications. He'd have to swing by a drugstore to pick up something simpler, in case this ill feeling presisted into the following day.

"I'm allowed in the car again? Sweet. Sure," he said with a mouthful of chicken and cracking a bottle of preserves. It popped open loudly. "Beets," he said happily.

"Okay, I'll get you a measuring sp-" before Quatre could finish, Heero had a mouthful of the cherry liquid downed. "..."

"That's about a tablespoon and a half," he could tell by the amount of liquid that hit his tongue(kind of). "It's tastes like..." he said and cleared the liquid from his cheeks further, "The bottom of that orange and red drink I had." He was sure to put the safety cap back on, lest it fall into less capable hands. He handed the now half empty medicine bottle back to Quatre(a very blank Quatre).

Shauna giggled, her brother's confused expression was amusing. "I bet that was...a Tequila sunrise. If so, that's grenadine you're talking about. It's got a tart taste like cherries, mmm-mmm." She stepped up next to her brother and back down again to remove the penicillin bottle from the shelf. She checked the date. "I remember these; I was given a different anti-biotic because this one didn't work. I never got around to throwing it out is all. Don't worry, I finished them."

"Good," Quatre said and looked into the large basket. "Most of these are yours, do you think you could go through them? Quite a few are expired." He flipped a couple boxes over to find a couple more that were nearing their prime dates.

She nodded, said, "No problem," and began texting.

"Um...?" Quatre gave her a bewildered look.

"I'm texting Naibun; it'll be done by tomorrow."

"But you're right 'here'."

"And they'll be right 'there' tomorrow," she said and began to leave. "I've got too much on my plate to be compulsing over dates at the moment."

Quatre wasn't looking to argue with her over it. "You don't find this sort of thing too tedious for a housekeeper? You should always handle your own medication." Still, he had to try and gently suggest she do it herself. His sister would pawn menial tasks off on the staff, it was beginning to happen more and more frequently; it bothered him.

"I trust her. Besides, I'll consider this a favor for letting her keep the outfit."

"Wait," he held up a hand to signal he didn't want her to leave just yet, "Outfit?" Quatre asked, eyebrow raised.

She came back a little, "Come on now, don't give me that look. It'll be fine, I kept it nice and tasteful. I even roped her friend into letting me make one for her too." Shauna had caught the two girls on the way out the door that day. She felt she was quite fortunate, this meant she was going to get more chances to work the same outfit into three different styles; the third one being for herself.

"I still don't know what it's for."

"For Friday," she said, finding it odd he needed to keep asking questions. "You're the one holding this thing and you don't even know what's going on," she said with a head shake and clicked her tongue a couple times, "What a host, geez."

"Wait, how did you find out?" He saw her point to Duo. Quatre immediately tried to pinch the guy in between the fridge door and it's contents, "Get out of there, you're cut off."

He manged to squeeze out of there with a plastic jug of milk. "What?! The fridge is empty back home."

"Go to the store." Quatre still seemed confused and now relatively annoyed.

"Buying things, ech," he said with an exaggerated shiver. It made Shauna snicker. Duo smirked. He intentionally turned his attention back to the milk; popping the top he began chugging, pleased he'd drawn a crowd.

"Back to you. Outfits? Come again?" He needed to know what was going on.

"While you were off talking to Naibun earlier, Duo filled me in. I'm making outfits for our servers to wear to this party; the designs will be going in my portfolio."

He sighed in relief. If they were going to be a public piece, it needed to follow some sort of dress code standard. "This party is to stay small; we have other plans the following day. So don't go inviting tons of people." He felt he needed to remind them all of that, since none of them were exercising crowd control initiatives; Heero looked too sickly to put up a fuss, Duo was too gung-ho to karaoke with the girls, while Wufei and Trowa were preoccupied with work. Quatre was in the dark about his own get together and he needed some aspect of control. "I don't know why you're going 'all out' anyway, this wasn't supposed to be a big gathering."

Shauna nodded with her arms triumphantly folded, "But I do over the top so well. Besides, we don't have plans until the evening," she assured him.

"We? Since when were you involved with this?" he tried to crack down on her pushy behavior. Now it was really starting to get to him.

"Since your friend Trowa asked me," she said nonchalantly.

"When was this?!" he exclaimed. Immediately whipping out his phone, he set his sights on badgering his so-called friend for sniping his sister on the rebound. "This is unbelievable...can you guys see yourselves out? I have to deal with things before the weekend," he motioned to his sister with his head.

"And what's that mean?" She went on the offensive.

"Narcissistic...demanding...a pain..." he managed a few words while texting.

She paused, "Are you saying that to me, or texting it to him," she wanted to clarify.

"Right now? Both of you," he said low though his gritted teeth. Why were all the people around him making rash decisions? He needed to get some answers, or a grip, either would do.

Duo began to back away with Heero. "We'll leave you two to that," he said and took leave before things got intense.

After they picked up some real painkillers from the pharmacy, Heero decided to help Duo out while the medicine soaked in. He was feeling much hazier and his thoughts trailed off in a spiral. 'W_as I snapping? It wasn't like I imagined the whole situation at school, many people were involved. That's stressful. And it wasn't like I wasn't peaceful about it at first. And that guy who woke me up could see I was fine, he didn't need to bug me. Duo was ready to punch a girl, would he have? No sense chancing it. I definitely didn't snap. Quatre snapped. How involved was that guy he punched? I thought it was a couple kids. He was only trying to help though, I'm sure the other guy will be fine. Quatre did look pretty angry when we left. Should we have left them?_' He heard the words 'you with me' echo around in his head; apparently Duo was talking to him, or trying to.

Heero now needed to turn his attention to his right, the driver side. Doing all this was interrupting the disagreement no one was having with him, but he decided to engage his friend anyway. All this was so hard. Was he that groggy from the medicine already? "What?" A hand massaged his forehead. It was his, he checked. Did he snap at Duo just then? It was warm in the car. Not as hot as the day he got it, but no time for that thought now.

"Are you sure you're going to be any help?" Duo said as his vision glazed over his glazed-over passenger.

"I said I would, and I will. If it's as bad as you say it is, you'll need my help." Duo had been lamenting as they got in the car about how dreadful the pad was. Heero had only seen the kitchen and living area, not much else, so it was up to his imagination how the rest of the house looked.

"It's something else, let me tell you..." They pulled into the driveway of the small town house that he'd been staying at the past half week. "I still have to do upkeep, but Wufei said if I can clean the extra room I can have it until I have a 'stable living situation'," he used his friend's words with finger-bunny-ear quotations in the air. "I just need to clear some room in the basement for the office furniture and I'm good."

"Sounds fair."

"Nuh-uh. There ain't nothing fair about what I've dealt with so far. I would expect this level of clutter at a landfill, not someone's home."

"I never took Wufei to be difficult to live with. Is he that disorganized?"

"I could deal with disorganized. I poked a stack of take-out containers in this 'office' I'm getting and a hoard of fruit flies came at me in a cloud." Duo imagined the song 'Ride of the Valkyries' as it went on. "I had to wait till they settled again and threw a bag over the whole stack." As he recounted the horrifying scenario, it sent a chill up his arms and a gag in his throat.

"How exactly am I supposed to help with that?" Heero wasn't feeling the best and tackling fermented fast food run off didn't sound favorable. Or fun.

"I only need help to bag the empties."

"There can't be that many," he said as he got out of the car and entered the house. He was wrong. "Holy..." Heero held his head. The sheer number of bottles and cans made him dizzy. Or were there spores floating around, weakening him further? The display of deposit toting bottles littering the basement was awe inspiring. There were mountains. "There's got to be at least..." he said and saw another pile that had been obscured by a piece of furniture, "...I say we cash these in and get a grocery order with it. I bet we could fill your fridge." Heero briefly imagined a great ram standing atop the pile, it brayed loudly and then bounded out of sight. Back to reality. "W-why are there so many...?"

"Wufei said he started tossing them down here because recycle week was every second week and he kept forgetting. Then he didn't have the right bags and forgot the pick-up day. Basically it was a big string of excuses I got tired of listening to, so I said I'd do it."

"I wonder what he was planning on doing if you hadn't." He waded through some cans, they nearly reached his knees. It was a scary thought to imagine Wufei as a hoarder, but it was a reality that persisted in presenting itself.

"He had the bags to do it, so who knows. It had all the _potential_ to happen."

Heero couldn't help but scratch his head; how had it come to this? "I thought Wufei had his priorities straightened out. What about his courier service?"

"He's got it all in order. The business is managed flawlessly," Duo said and began the bagging process by propping Heero's arms up and getting him to keep them outstretched with an open bag. "His health seems okay, considering-" Duo presented the room, "His motorcycle is fine tuned. His debt is non-existent. No outstanding gambling losses. Marks at school are the top of the class...I don't get it either." All the while he was saying this, cans flew into the opening to fill up the void.

Heero watched them get sucked into the black hole. Were they actually being sucked in? Not possible. It was more like they were attached to a string and were being manipulated into the bag in one large motion. Was someone in the bottom of the bag pulling all the strings? There's always someone pulling the strings. Back again. "That's full," he said and fluffed the cans around.

"Not yet," Duo took the edges of the bag and folded them over one another to contain the contents temporarily and laid some of his weight on top. It crunched down loudly. "A few more." And he went on.

He then tied and tossed along side the only blank wall in the room. The rest had the potential to be blank walls, but like the bags that had the potential to be useful, they fell short. Back again. "You're really good at this."

"It's what I do." He noticed Heero zoning out, other than that, he seemed okay. He'd have to keep an eye on him still.

For Duo, sorting through other peoples junk wasn't just a hobby or even a favor at that point, it was a way of life. It was as if his brain was in 'perma-sort' mode. Eventually the wall was filled with fifteen recycle bags. Duo felt the inside of the box containing the bags he purchased for the occasion. The bag-box was half empty and the room didn't come close to that. "We may need a truck for this."

Heero popped his phone out. "I'll message Relena."

Duo cocked an eyebrow, "No hesitation. I like it."

"Cut that out. I saw a truck in her garage." Heero turned away slightly so he could text in peace.

"When were you in her garage? And since when does Relena have a garage? And a truck?! Of all things for a princess to own..." He was seriously confused enough to almost forget he was grilling his friend. He couldn't picture Relena in a big-ol truck.

"I was in there yesterday. She has a lot of cars; I think she started collecting them when she was twelve." He shrugged, "And I don't know...she likes trucks."

"She collects them, huh...how do you know all this?"

Heero shut his phone, having successfully hooked them up with a Ford F150. "I asked. Funny: People tell you things when you just ask them."

A twinge of anger caused his cheek to twitch. He calemd down right away when he realized that he hadn't tried that approach. Every time he wanted information from Heero, he always tried to get him to disclose information willy-nilly. This was a hint to try a different angle. "...are you two dating?"

"No."

"You're just fooling around then?"

"Seems like that."

"Is it ever going to be anything serious?"

"Don't know."

"How do you not know? Ya' say all I have to do is ask..." he trailed off.

"I'm only telling you what _I_ know."

'_Oh_,' he thought and gave this game a bit more consideration. "Here's one: Was any of what you did premeditated? I mean, I know you were complaining about Relena at the banquette and all, but were you trying to get with her the whole time?" He now assumed Heero played coy, throwing him off guard long enough to score some alone time with Relena.

"No; everything I've done has been a spur of the moment."

"That's not like you," he said and 'O_r is it? You follow your emotions, right?_' he thought. Duo hesitated on his next question, "...that's all. Thanks for sharin'." Duo was at peace knowing he wasn't friends with a robot, even if he did act like one sometimes. Robot or not, he felt the next inquiry would have been taking things too far. Duo noted how annoyed Heero got when people fawned over Relena; he wanted to know if that was because of insecurity, not disgust like he plays it up. A question of that caliber would cause him to clam up again for sure. He could feel it. It was far too assumptive.

"...You're a strange one, I hope you know that."

"Yup." Again: Bag open. Prop friend. Effortlessly fill. Tie. Sixteen now. He couldn't help but notice how ridgid Heero seemed. If it wasn't a cold, maybe he was a robot. '_Oh well. I'm sure he's intricately programed enough to still trade notes with_.'

"Duo...I hope it's the medicine talking...but..." He pointed up to the wall they were filling with recyclables. Above the bags were tiny dark spots that moved and twinkled. "Is the wall...alive?"

"Those are the fruit flies. They're everywhere because of the empties," Duo said as he looked into the top of the bottle he held. They had finished with the cans and were going to move on to bottles. "I'm worried about em'," he said quietly.

"Me too...I think I can hear them communicating. They're mounting an attack," he said and leand an ear closer.

"Not them. About Wufei. He just got this place a few months ago...how has it gotten this bad already?"

"I don't know. What I do know, is that I need to lay down. I'm overtired," he said as he held a hand on a non-fly part of the wall to balance; he was hearing and seeing things, that couldn't be a good sign.

"Go for it. The couch is all yours."

"I actually get to sleep on the couch this time," he snarked as he turned toward the stairs.

"Hey man, I offered to get up last night, but you wouldn't move."

"When did you offer? In your dream?"

"When you fell asleep against the door frame."

"I didn't do that."

"You did!" Duo's face lit up with a smirk, "You dozed off and threatened to bust my kneecaps if I woke you."

"I didn't!" A hand now held the top of his head, maybe trying to get a grip on his thought process for the past week.

"You did! Why would I lie?" His hands palms were firmly held upward. "Heero, I don't think you can handle your alcohol," he said with a snicker, "I bet that medicine's even got you tipsy." He didn't mean it when he said it, but his accusation was confirmed.

"I think so too," he said and leaned against the wall, thumb and index finger pinching the bridge of his nose, "I feel drunk."

"No way, seriously?" he said in disbelief and helped his friend up to the living room right away. A quick phone call was made to Quatre to ask about the cherry medicine he ingested. Indeed, there was a bit of alcohol in it. They hung up. "That kind of blows, I wonder what other stuff you don't remember." He felt that lots of things worth remembering had happened too.

"For starters: I don't remember how we ended up at Quatre's. And I only found out _why_ we were there the next morning because I heard you guys talking that morning."

He noted Heero's speech; he had been sliding for the past twenty minutes, that last line sealed the deal. Something wasn't right. "For now, you need sleep and food; we'll worry about it when you're in better spirits." He then went on the hunt for a blanket, the request was silent, Duo could see the goosebumps forming up his friend's arms. If it was some kind of cold, he was going to get worse before he got better. "I'm putting some soup on. You can have some too if you like."

"Bring it on," he said and laid down on his side to wait.

* * *

...tbc...


	20. Chapter 20: My Locus: Revisited

You thought you were getting the 'Heero chapter'? NOPE!  
You've been trolled, back to Quatre! =P

Next one, I swear. (Don't know when)  
It's just...I got a really nice review last time and I want to polish Pt. 2 a little more.  
Plus I get a set up in this one.  
The lengths I go to for the sake of a pun.

* * *

**Chapter 20 - My Locus: Revisited**

* * *

Quatre sat at his kitchen table with his cell. Shauna had decided to listen to her brother for a change and was sorting through her meds. Though they were in the same room, at the same table, they were worlds apart. He had gotten to know his sister long ago, as a child, and they lived together for a few years back then. She and he were totally different people now. Not only different from one another, different from nearly a decade ago. He assumed this was the definition of fraternal twins: Only alike in 'some' ways.

She hadn't grown up on the battlefield, not even for a day, so her philosophy differed somewhat. While they both appreciated the arts, his was more for music, hers for color. When they were cooking, he was sweet, she was salty. Outings, he formal-casual, she flashy-scene. He pondered, '_Not hot and cold, that would be too different. Warm, chilly,_' he chuckled once to himself silently. The parallels were amusing to compare. They both even seemed to get along well with Trowa too.

The situation with him ended up going over well. Trowa was collected enough to explain what had happened the past weekend fully. He was merely taking her out to get her mind off the situation back home, there was no ill intent behind it whatsoever. He was straight with Shauna too, he let her know that it was to be a friendly outing, nothing more. '_I figured giving her something to look forward to would get her mind of that nasty break-up. I've explained myself clearly over coffee today, she's totally alright with it_.'

Quatre felt Trowa was excelent with words, he always was, today was yet another shining example under his belt. He didn't speak very openly, but it sure counted when he did. Relief. The outcome was even better than he'd expected, no voices were raised and no tears were shed. Above all else, no bottles were opened.

His calmed expression darkened to a worried one. Was she planning on drinking again this weekend? After a stint like the last one, 'sauce' should have been off the agenda for at least a month.

"I had a thought..." Shauna said quietly. Her sibling seemed okay, but she was too sensitive to his facial expressions to let 'worry' slip on by. The quiet contempt was starting to get to her too. The silence needed to break.

"Oh?" He calmly looked up from nudging his phone into making pointless circles on the surface between them.

"If your friend is sick...you shouldn't have a _rocking party_," she pulled her wicker basket toward her and opened it, "You should have a _relaxing party_."

Quatre thought about it, "I've never thrown an oxymoron before, how does that work?" he smirked. It seemed flashing a little red here and there was how to get her to consider his side. He'd keep the idea of 'asserting himself' on the table, in case she got too out of hand again. He was willing to hear her out, it seemed she was submitting.

"Funny," she said. Shauna doodled a few things down on a scrap paper that had been marked up already. "You see...here, look," she said and handed him the edited scribble. "With a few simple alterations, I can make them bath friendly."

Quatre's eyes brightened, "The bath is done?" The worry he once had instantly started melting.

"I helped Maggie and Erica out," two other sisters, "And we finished it yesterday. We can fill it tomorrow, heat it overnight and come here right after school to relax. That way you can send the bulk of people home earlier and the rest of the evening will be you and your tighter circle of friends."

"That's perfect." Quatre felt things were beginning to look up.

"You had a point; it should be small. I don't need to spread myself thin. There's December and all it's wonderful holidays for that." It was gift giving season and several birthdays piled on top of that, she'd get a to flaunt her good material then.

"That's true. Will you be staying here for the season, or do you plan to travel?" Since her separation from Omar was definite, she didn't really have a reason to go back to their homeland. They did have all kinds of family in Saudi Arabia, it was just easier to hold any gatherings in Japan. Many family members lived overseas in the Americas, so Japan seemed like the most central area for everybody to go.

Their father was also exceptionally fond of Japan in his time; he admired the hard working nation for it's amazing industry. At least that was his excuse, it was the food that drew him the most. Quatre was on the same page as his dad, Japanese cuisine was something to experience.

The phone rang. It was Duo, "Hello?" Quatre said.

'_Hey man, got a question for you. Still near that fridge_?'

"I can be."

'_Can you check and see if there's any alcohol in that medicine Heero guzzled_.' The words 'I didn't guzzle it' could be heard in the background.

"Is there alcohol in the medicine?" he clarified the question and went to get up. Before rising completely, he saw Shauna nodding her head deeply. "Yes, there is. Why?"

'_Just checking, thanks_,' and he hung up.

"That's odd." Duo did use minutes for his phone, he assumed that was the reason for the quick call. Or it was that he didn't want to interrupt the potentially raging argument he was having with his sister.

"Maybe he's worried about drug interactions," Shauna suggested a common concern.

"Maybe...I didn't know they still put alcohol in cold medicine."

"I put alcohol in cold medicine."

"You'd put it on your cereal if you could get away with it," he spoke without thinking.

She laughed, "I did that once. Kahlua-milk over crispy rice. I got drunk and felt like I was five." Apparently calling her out on being a lush had no effect, for she was at peace with her vice.

"Isn't that what happens anyway," he was talking about mentally regressing to a five year old state when intoxicated.

"True, but I felt five 'while' I was getting drunk, that doesn't normally happen. And I don't think I was clear before. I put alcohol _inside_ _that_ medicine bottle."

And there went the happy feeling.

She held a hand over her chest, making sure her heart was in check. "I guess '_kick_' doesn't mean the same thing in every language. My Japanese needs a little work." The slang word for 'kick' she was referring to meant 'strong', normally used to talk about booze and other 'fun substances'. Kick in the sense that Heero understood meant it 'tastes aweful'.

"..." Quatre didn't know what to say. He had to have his sister around his friends, there was no way he was going to run the risk of them being upset at her for doing this sort of thing. She should have been straight with them, like Trowa was, and told them exactly what she had done. "What's in it?" he managed to say without biting.

"Bourbon."

"How much?"

"When it was new, I took out an ounce and a half and replaced it with the JD."

"JD?"

"Jack Daniels. You need to come to the skate park with me every now and again, learn to talk like a teenager, geez. So don't worry, it wasn't much."

That good mood of his wasn't coming back, he even forgot how it could possibly be there anymore. There were too many things perpetually going wrong to maintain an upbeat attitude, hell, even a decent mood would have been stretching it. "I've got some projects to work on," he left the table, "I'm going to work on them tonight, please don't disturb me," he left the room, leaving Shauna to wonder '_What was I thinking'_, he'd hoped.

Why was she so difficult? He'd never met someone so pushy and assumptive in his life. '_And she's judging my behavior? I doubt my head can take much more of this_.' Quatre was as easy going as they came, he mostly kept to himself.

How had his sister gone down such a different path? As far as he knew, their upbringing was quite similar. Even the violent torrent of temper tantrums ended around the same time, age nine. '_I suppose that marked the end of her major growth for the time being_,' he thought. It was something he'd never say out loud, for it was a thought born purly of frustration. It wouldn't do her any good to hear it, it would have done him less good to say it out loud. He'd mentally end up taking it back anyway, it was low. "Too far," he said and folded his arms. Even the cereal line he cracked was pushing it a bit.

Not being hardened by war left her with some very different ideals than the ones he had. Any words, even if he spoke them in their native tongue, would hold little meaning to her. It would be like describing color to someone who was born blind; it is impossible to imagine something you've never seen. He was holding out for the day something happened in her life that would make her think deeper about her actions and words; he begged Allah be merciful when doing so.

He thought that maybe his faith was the big difference between them. Quatre banked a lot more importance in day to day ritual and it rounded out his routine nicely. Even the move to the dorm didn't throw him off any. Quatre stared blankly ahead as he remembered something. As he made the walk to his room he realized, '_I haven't been back since last week...I'm going to need to clean_.' Dusting was part of a weekly ritual. Considering he hadn't been back since all the drama went down at school, there was probably a lot of it.

Pointing out the flaws in his sisters routine only made him think of his own and how to improve them. Quatre said he wanted to live more independently, as his friends did, so he felt hiding at home was a tad hypocritical of him. If he wanted Shauna to be a well rounded individual, he had to maintain his own agenda.

Sunday, he would pick up his things at the house and head back to the drom for Monday. That did mean he'd be able to rejoin Heero and Trowa on their bus ride to school each morning. That was one ritual he really wanted to continue. The school's private transit system differed from public transit in a couple ways. There were bathroom facilities for one, and there were trays on the backs of each seat for another. They could be lowered and used to eat something or finish homework on the way home from school. Of course he mostly saw people finishing homework on the way _to_ school instead.

Finally reaching his room, Quatre locked the door. His lock was the only thing he had control over, turning it felt rewarding. '_It shouldn't_,' he reprimanded himself, his mood was steadily becoming sour, he didn't like it. Instead of opening and shutting the lock a few more times for the endorphines, he headed straight for the bed instead. He wasn't tired, the need for something soft and comforting was peaking. The only thing he was going to miss about home was his plush covers, they were far to big for his dorm room bed.

He flopped back. Most of the bed was soft, with the exception of a hard book laid at the end. His eyes shot wide open and he sat straight up. He had forgotten about the comic! It was the whole reason he was in a rush to get home to being with. Not seeing the calculus text right when he got in must have caused a brief memory lapse, the stress of getting pulled over must have rattled him. Naibun probably moved it to that spot right when she signed on to work.

The tiny text was still sealed inside the larger tome, jammed nicely in the crook of the book. Had he really stuffed it in there that hard? It did need to remain hidden, he _was_ living with his sister again. What Shauna lacked in alcohol discretion, she made up for in sexual abstinence. The girl hardly ever showed a neckline or shoulders, swimsuit season or otherwise; seeing physical 'smut' in the house might have been worthy of a stoning in her eyes. Quatre recalled how he discovered this trait about his sister, it was a month ago, right after her separation was finalized by the other family. It took a while, but it finally came up.

She had to fight for her divorce because Omar's family. Apparently they didn't want to cut ties with the Winner family so quickly, so to retaliate, they put up a rather large stink when Shauna dropped the bomb on them. The money took months to sort out.

If she wasn't ready to settle down so soon, she had every right to leave. Quatre didn't hold it against her, especially if the disdain stemmed from an altercation with said ex. It was one of the first things he inquired about when he managed to get her talking about the subject: Had he been violent with her? Considering the swiftness of her move and the substance abuse after she got there, it was only natural that it was one of the key elements that popped into his mind.

With sincere tones and expressions, she honestly assured him that it wasn't the case. Omar wanted children as soon as possible and she wanted to launch a clothing line, evidently, also, as soon as possible. Needless to say, their life plans stopped overlapping when the two of them finished their last year of high school. It went from a posh relationship between two huge names at the top of their respective social ladders, to a one sided arranged marriage with a bitter grudge match between lawyers and in-laws.

It wasn't a traditional arranged marriage to begin with. What made it 'special' was that the other family was offering to pay for everything to do with the wedding and the house they'd be getting afterward. Omar offering to cover everything was what tipped her off into thinking this was a celebrity marriage; she said she'd have nothing else to do with him after that, and even went so far as to call it a 'rush job marriage' and 'gauche'. Why would the Winner family need anyone to pay for anything for them? It was patronizing.

'_Pay for it all..._' he thought about the weekend and how he offered up a lot of money for Naibun to go out with them. He didn't mean anything by it; he only wanted her to brighten up some and get away from that mother of hers. No offense meant, but that lady was stressing her daughter out by being far too critical. A weekend out was what Naibun needed; in the end, there would be no harm done.

Earlier, while Naibun was still working, he popped in to see how she was. The girl was all jittery, probably for the weekend, and the fact they were alone. He laughed as he remembered the adorable blush she gave him, it was so cute. He asked if she'd told her mother about the 'quote, unquote, overtime' she'd be enduring. Her mom ended up being cool with it; she said she'd be working that night too, anyway. Even if Naibun stayed out late, her mother wouldn't even notice.

It was a quick process, but it seemed he was falling for her in return. He'd never had a crush before, it was an amusing notion. Now he was laughing more, but still managing to keep the sound off. Was it a nervous laughter? He couldn't tell. He didn't care, the 'happy' was back.

Stretching his arms out and laying back caused him to crinkle the comic on the corner beneath his leg. His sister was all for the alcohol and hated sexual deviancy, maybe he was the opposite of that too. "...I'm sure Allah will forgive me," he said and picked up the comic, finally able to enjoy it in peace. His bedroom door lock didn't hold a candle to that kind of endorphin release.

* * *

*high five for classy masturbation references*


	21. Chapter 21: Our Heero is only Human Pt2

Alright! Time to get the next arc up an running. :D

These last three chapters really set the stage for what's coming up, I'm really excited to be writing it, finally! *has advil on hand for her CPS*

Oh no, you guys don't understand. I had the BEST ideas happen one after another! They all flowed so perfectly, I had to take a break from writing this just to sort them out and see if they'd fit. I want to get down as many ideas as I can, so, for warned, this story isn't ending any time soon. I want to say there are still some gaps...but I don't think there are...not like the one in the frist 'party' arc.

For those of you who didn't pick up on it, allow me call myself out...

After Relena dropped Heero off at his dorm, she runs into Trowa and Catherine on her way back out. BUT. When she's driving Quatre home, he mentions that Trowa was still at the party when they left.

I've fixed the error so that she ran into them as she was coming back in for Duo. You can go back to read it, it's chapter 3, I reworded a bunch of other things in there too and touched up the dialogue some.

It worked out quite nicely.

Next: Shauna Winner, originally just a filler who was going to pop in for comic relief now and then, has gotten such a _way_ better back story now. It goes above and beyond my initial idea for her, WAY above. Hehe, the best part, I don't have to backpedal to do it. Let's just say, I've never seen it done _this way_ before. Not that it _hasn't_ been done, I've just never found anything that did it yet in this fandom.

On with the show!

* * *

**Chapter 21: Our Heero is Only Human - Part 2**

* * *

Duo held a mug of soup in either hand as he made his way back into the living room. "Here we go, I got us some mushroom soup this ti-...what are you doing?" With his head held at an angle, Duo was better able to scope out his half snapped friend.

Heero laid with his back flat to the couch and his head hanging down off the edge slightly. It gave him a different perspective on the room he was in. "When I do this, the room turns inside out."

"Don't you mean 'upside down'," he asked with a snicker.

"No," he motioned his hands as though he were flipping something around, "Inside out. The room inverts." Heero gasped suddenly and sat up.

Eyes wide, "Something wrong?"

"I thought...it...the room turned into a ball for a second, so I thought the floor was gone." He laid back, a forearm bridging both eyes. He knew the floor could have been gone, even for a second, why would he even think that? "Weird..."

"That's one word for it," he said and laid the soup down, only to nonchalantly take out his cell and start dialing.

A phone call later and Trowa was coming over. He was on his way home that evening from his daily chores at the circus when he got the call. It took him no time to get over to Wufei's. "You're going to have to explain this more precisely. What's he doing," he asked as they ventured into the living room where they saw Heero sitting up, attempting to drink his hot soup. All seemed well.

"He's acting strangely-wait and see." Of course, Heero chose the worst possible time to pull it together and sit back down.

Trowa thought out loud, "Hearing things, dizzy, confused...possibly dehydration?" he suggested based on Duo's earlier descriptions.

"I doubt it, he had a bottle of water on the way here and soup not too long ago. That's his second helping," he said and pointed to the large, thick, black mug in Heero's hands.

"Nutrition may still be a factor, we don't know what he ate all day."

"I didn't," Heero said.

"There you go," Trowa shrugged. "What kind of medicine was it?" As he shifted some weight to the opposite foot, it creaked a lousy floor board.

"Don't know. Something Quatre pulled off'top of the fridge."

"Really? Medicine shouldn't be put up there, it gets too warm."

"Ah, damn. Does that mean it spoiled?"

"I doubt that. I think it evaporates the water in the syrup, concentrating it further."

"Really? That makes sens-ah, see!" Duo said and quickly pointed in the direction he wanted Trowa to look. They played voyeur from the doorway.

Heero was checking behind the furniture, and he got down on his knees to do so, if he needed. He touched a palm to an ear, "It sounds like...people cheering...maybe. No...bats...positive, it's bats." Trowa's foot seemed to cause the board he was standing on to resonate a sound throughout the living room that resembled flying rodents. He looked up to his friends giving him the oddest of stares. "What? I don't really think you have bats...it just sounds like it..." He abandoned the noise for the time being. "And I'm only getting it on one side...this is annoying." He went back to the soup and picked it up to take a drink. It was still too hot. He rested the mug back down on the coffee table and himself, once more, on the couch. Heero acted as if his behaviors were commonplace.

"That is pretty peculiar," Trowa said with a few light nods of his head.

Duo had a devious expression momentairly, "Desperate measures," he piped up and took out his phone to dial, "Missy." This seemed like a good enough excuse to call her(he'd been looking for one too).

"Who?"

"She's a bartender."

Heero's arm shot straight up, "No she isn't," and flopped back above his head again.

"...and...there's alcohol involved. She might have seen a reaction like this before and know what's going on with him." He got a hold of the one in question and gave her a brief description of the symptoms Heero was experiencing, plus the lack of food and after all that, he said, "-and Quatre did mention there was alcohol in the medicine."

Now it really concerned her, '_Even with all things considered, that reaction is still __way off__. I'm glad you called. Are you able to stay with him for the night_?'

Duo raised an eyebrow, "How come-well...I guess if he's hallucinating, he might get spooked easily." And being alone and scared was nowhere to be, Duo knew that all too well.

"I'm not hallucinating," Heero denied it; his protest was ignored.

'_Exactly_,' Missy said with relief, '_The only thing he can do is sleep it off. Have you got the room to put him up_?'

"Tons. We'll toss a thick blanket over all the bags and makeshift a bed for him to sleep it off," he repeated her in such a way that it let his friends know what she was suggesting they do.

'_Bags_?'

"Yeah, recycle bags; we were cleaning when this all happened."

'_Cleaning, huh...did you need any help? I doubt Heero's going to be any good for the rest of the night_.'

"It doesn't need to be done any time soon; but hey, if you want to come over tomorrow that'd be great. We still could use your help."

'_Ah_, _I remember my first apartment_,' she sounded hopeful, '_Do you need any cleaning supplies_?'

"We lack something abrasive, and I really want to get into that tub eventually...and I've yet to find the vacuum Wufei mentioned." Duo gave her some simple directions and set up a time during mid-morning for her to head over. He hung up, hoping he could hook up with her for the circus. If not, he had a couple others in mind to ask, but she was going to get the honor of being his first pick that time.

"Where did you meet this one?" Trowa asked, skeptical about the new girl. If Heero wasn't thrilled, it was probably with good reason.

"She was running the bar the night of the supper."

Trowa froze, "There were many bartenders that night."

Duo noticed that reaction. "...why does it matter?"

"I knew one of them is all; we don't get along," he lied.

"Missy's the tall one with the pink in her hair."

It _was_ her. "I'm mistaken, that's someone else," a second lie, "Go on."

"Well, nothing special, we just ran into her again yesterday. She wanted to help out when she caught wind of this 'comic' ordeal from her sister-"

"She doesn't have a sister," Heero interrupted again, this time with a finger pointing in his direction.

"How could you possibly know these things!?" Duo asked, baffled.

"I could tell she was lying; I could also tell she was leading the conversation. I'm pretty sure there's more to Missy than she's letting on."

Trowa took a seat on one of the smaller nearby chairs. He moved a white blanket off the cushion and laid it over the arm to sit, it draped to the floor near his feet. "Aren't bartenders normally good with people to begin with?"

Heero rolled on to his stomach and shifted his head up to see the others through his peripheral vision. "That's true. But why would she need to lead a casual conversation like that? She should have nothing to gain from it; unless she was reporting the information to someone else that is. And as for mixing drinks for minors, it's a sign something isn't right. I'd like to know her angle."

"Why's everyone got to have a motive with you?" Duo was getting annoyed. If Heero didn't trust her, there was no chance he was going to be allowed to take her along on their outing that weekend.

"Because people don't make up behaviors, they act out of necessity based on past experiences and future goals. She's after something, but what?" He paused to think, "...you defended her...if it's because you're interested in pursuing something else: Don't."

He had been called on it. "Why not?"

"She's much older than she appears; the clothes and the hair won't fool me. The texture of her skin and the shape of her hips put her in at least the mid to late twenties." He rolled onto his back again, unable to get comfortable.

"She's not that much-"

"Yes she is-" Heero cut him off, he wasn't allowing this, not for a second. "And we don't know who she's working for."

"If anyone," Duo continued to defy him.

"Tomorrow seems like the perfect time to get a few answers out of her," Trowa suggested.

Duo huffed. "Can she clean before you go all 'special ops' on her? I want a bedroom," he wined.

"Fine," he said and arched his back to look at Trowa again. Before he could get any thought out, a tiger popped up from alongside the chair! It rested gently beneath his friend's hand. Heero bolted upright and leapt backward to the opposite side of the sofa he was on, the one furthest from the beast. It scuffed the whole seat along the floor four inches from the force of his flight. Why?! Why had Trowa brought a tiger in with him?! And when did his circus troupe get a white tiger?! Wait. Reality. Now backed up fully, Heero realized that the ferocious animal in question was nothing more than a blanket who's folds were mockingly mimicking some stripes; it's bulk pretended to coil it's faux-tiger body smugly against the side of his friend's leg.

The other two wore similar expressions. "Something the matter?" Trowa could see it was something around him that caused the reaction, but what? He began checking. What could have made Heero look so terrified?

"No. It was something stupid," but for a brief shining moment, it was a god damn tiger! "I'm seeing things."

"Scary things, apparently," Duo looked worried. The worry had been working it's way out since he wheeled a wobbly Heero upstairs. It was now pitting in his stomach and felt like driven nails beneath his ribs.

"For now, I guess all you can do is stop him from getting hurt. Try putting on some easy listening music, it may distract him from whatever he's experiencing."

Duo nodded, "That could work." He got up and fiddled with the radio until he got a clear signal. "Will we be seeing you tomorrow?" The radio finally tuned to the song 'Candle in the Wind' by Elton John. "Good tune," Duo said to himself with a gentle head bob.

"For cleaning?" Trowa inhaled a slow breath to give the illusion he was considering the notion, "How about, I drop off your homework for you instead."

"Come on, take a sick day and help us out," Duo tried to persuade him.

"I clean up after animals all day, why would I take a day off to do something like that?"

Folds arms, "Cheap."

"I'll disregard the fact you inadvertently called us animals if, after you drop off the homework, you also take the recyclables to the depot," Heero said.

Trowa laughed, even in an altered state he was too quick for his own good. "I can do that. I still have work tomorrow, so make sure they're ready to go right at the end of the day."

"I'll take them out back," Duo said and pointed in the direction of the back of the house, "If you pull the truck around, we'll be able to load them from there."

"I don't own a truck," and he doubted he could get one on such short notice.

"I'm getting you one," Heero said as he sent off a text to Relena, fleshing out the details for her a little better. "You'll be at school all day tomorrow?" he saw Trowa nod, "Good, you'll get the keys before first period." He cemented the plans and Trowa left shortly afterward.

"So..." Duo tried to spark up conversation.

Heero hesitated, "-Yes?" He was going to get grilled on the girl he was going around with again, wasn't he?

"What exactly are you feeling right now?"

"..." Heero sat up and looked at him blankly. "Not quite what I was expecting."

"...what?"

He shook his head, "Why do you want to know?"

"Curious."

"Don't try it."

"I won't! That's why I want to know, that way, I don't have to."

A valid excuse, but one he still wasn't looking forward to entertaining. "If I tell you, and you find it interesting, won't that make you want to try it?"

"I'm not sure...probably not. But I do know that if you don't tell me, I'll be up all night worrying about it." His stress level was beginning to rise, he was showing outward physical symptoms of discomfort. Duo hoped talking about it would calm his mind some.

He sighed at the mere though to having to disclose such information. It wasn't often that Duo looked this worried though, in fact, it was one of the few emotions Duo didn't emote regularly. "Fine. If it'll get you to sleep," Heero said and pretended to be annoyed as he checked the time on his watch. It wasn't too late, it was plenty of time for at least one bed time story. '_Dammit_.'

"Before you start, let me pull the couch out."

"This pulls out?!" Heero snapped, "You couldn't have mentioned that last night?"

"I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want to risk my kneecaps," Duo said with a laugh.

"Right, sorry," he said and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was helped over to and sat down on the armchair with the not-a-tiger-for-a-blanket, while Duo unfolded the sofa. The piece of furniture howled as it's rigid gears ground and scrapped against one another within. To Heero, in that moment, it sounded like people screaming and being slammed against a metal surface. It was disturbing. He had to cover his ears until the device was eventually laid flat and a silent sheet was spread over top of it all.

He tossed a couple pillows at the head of the bed. "I bet you want the left side."

"Y-yeah...why would you suggest that?" It was strangely insightful.

"Because you _like_ sleeping on the left side. Ah," Duo recalled, "That happened at Quatre's, I bet you don't remember."

"I guess not. What else have I missed?" These memory lapses were beginning to get annoying.

"Nothing big, you and Quatre had a pointless argument on who got what side of the bed. I got you two to stop by suggesting you sleep head-toe." Duo intentionally neglected to mention the 'tub' incident; now was not the time to be stressing him out anymore.

"That explains why I was at the end of the bed."

"Mmm...do you remember trying to smoke?"

"No," he said and got up to take his spot on the newly opened bed. "I had a cigarette?" He laid down.

"Not quite," Duo said and laid on the opposite side to get comfortable as he flashed back for them.

_They sat quietly in the gutter out in front of Wufei's house as they awaited their cab. Duo was locking the house up. Trowa extended his tin of cigarettes to Heero, who took one. "When did you start smoking?" he asked._

"_I haven't yet, no light," Heero said and pointed to the unlit cigarette in his mouth._

_He chuckled lightly, _"_Oh, here," he said and handed him the lighter._

_Heero brought it up to his face and struck the wheel, igniting the flame. The glow showed him that the cigarette was in his mouth backwards. He took it out and flipped it around. When he did this, the lighter also flipped upside down, making it unstrikable. Heero tried one more time to correct the situation, but ended up taking the cigarette out of his mouth completely and tried replacing it with the lighter instead. "I...I apparently don't want this right now," he said and handed both objects back to Trowa, not wanting to burn himself._

_He nodded solemnly, "That seems wise," he said and extended the same cigarette to Duo instead._

"...I...why?" Heero was struck for words. They had all drank the same amount that night, how was his experience so different?

"Don't worry about it for now. We'll talk to Missy tomorrow and see if she knows anything. If not: School nurse," he said, smirking and rubbing his hands together. The nurse was an intern fresh out of college, she was pretty, slender and sometimes wore stilettos to work. He could hear her heels clicking during last period on Mondays; his last class that day was right below her office when she came in.

A few seconds went by, "I still don't trust her."

"Missy or the nurse?" This got him a glare he could feel through the darkness, "I'm kidding! And I know you don't, I didn't expect you to." Convincing Heero of anything wasn't a feat to be tackled right before bed, he'd need all his wits to convince him that this girl was harmless. Thus, he went back to his initial request. "And are you gonna' to tell me what's going on in that head of yours, or not?" He wasn't letting him get off the hook so soon.

And here he was hoping Duo had dropped it all. "Are you sure you want to hear this?" Heero was worried a description of what he was going through was going to be far more unsettling than not knowing anything.

"All of it."

"Okay..." He wondered where he should start and how much he should keep in or to keep out. Finally, he dicided. "At first, I had a hard time organizing my thoughts, my mind wandered into various ideas rapidly. I began making connections that were impossible, like, strings pulling the things that move, rather than them moving on their own, or others moving them. The cans you were throwing into the bag the first time started doing that."

"You were zoning out hard core when you were holding out the bags too."

He nodded, "I'd believe it. Then that's when I noticed audio interference. It was chatter at first, as if I was hearing a conversation happening in an adjoining room. It was kind of muffled."

"And that's when you were lookin' at the fruit flies?"

"Yeah. When I got up here and was laying down, I got the feeling that I was falling. Do you know what I mean when I say that 'fleeting' feeling you get when you first catch yourself from a fall?" Duo nodded so he continued, "Well, that keeps happening on and off, randomly."

"Falling? Isn't it scary?"

"Little bit. It keeps making me jump because it really feels like I'm slipping off of something. From there-" Heero's explanation went on until he stopped hearing responses. For someone who said they were worried, he sure managed to doze off awfully quickly. Checking in briefly, "...still awake...no..." Heero shut his eyes too and rolled off to the edge of the bed, a place he thought he'd find sleep.

It didn't last, Duo moved around a lot. He didn't roll, he just sat up and shuffled about for a few minutes, possibly looking for his phone. He suddenly stopped moving. Heero looked up with a single open eye. He could see his friend sitting with his back toward him, perfectly still, in the middle of the bed, in the middle of the dark room, in the middle of the night. He had to let him know, "Duo...that's kind of creepy," he said with a nervous tone. It would have been less ominous if all the lights weren't off.

After a few more moments of silence, Duo suddenly laid back down, turned, and schooched closer. How he manged to stealthily slink an arm beneath Heero's head was to remain a mystery, it happened far too quickly. He began clinging to his friend's upper half for dear life.

Another burden had taken hold of him, literally! The god of death had one hell of a death grip(hug). "Duo?"

"..." he didn't respond. He only held on, squeezing gently and muttered incomplete words.

"Mind telling me what you're doing." He had his eyes closed for no more than a half hour when the assult began. What could have brought it on? "Come on, Duo...now's not the...wait...you aren't awake, are you?" Heero gave him a couple more nudges in the forehead before he gave up. Since there was no fighting the current, he just jammed a pillow in between his friend's face and the back of his neck and cut his losses; at least this way if Duo drooled in his sleep, he avoided any mess.

He'd heard of 'sleep walking', but never 'sleep strangling'. Each time he squirmed to get away, that grip of Duo's tightened like a vice, holding him fast. If this kept up he wouldn't have to worry about falling asleep, he'd be suffocated and lose consciousness that way. '_A ram...talking insects...bats...a tiger...and now, an octopus_.' He laughed as he pictured Duo as a cephalopod; briefly wondering if the braid would be counted as part of the head, or another leg. He snickered quietly, not wanting to wake Duo up. He then couldn't help himself and laughed a bit louder; if holding his nose and yelling didn't wake him, laughter wouldn't. Heero had to remember to doodle the 'Duoctopus' when he got up.

He managed to doze off a few times, but nothing he'd go calling sleep. This went on all night, right until the sun crested the horizon. One more night of unrest couldn't hurt, could it? At least today was a sick day, he could sleep it away.

When Duo finally unclenched, Heero slipped downward and got off the bed. His head was on straight now and apart from being overtired, he was able to navigate the room. Heading to the opposite side of the pull-out sofa, he summarily crashed.

An alarm went off an hour later. Heero once again got the 'I'm slipping' feeling as the obnoxious sound buzzed in his ears. '_That's a much better comparison_,' he thought. While it did feel like falling, slipping in and out of a dream was a much closer description of the feeling he was getting the night previous. He'd have to tell Duo later, he'd probably want to know. '_Oh no...it's spreading_,' he thought. His friend's nosey, infectious demeanor was beginning to rub off on him.

Duo stretched and sat up. He hadn't slept as well as he'd hoped, and that stomach ache was sticking around; maybe he was starting to get sick too, and the medicine Heero had was just conveniently timed. When his eyes fully opened, he found himself in an odd place. "Mornin'...uh...I thought you were on this side," he said and pointed down at the left side of the bed beneath him.

"I got up to use the bathroom and you moved over," he lied, sparing his friend the embarrassment of knowing what really happened. If the bus incident was any indication, this situation might have made him uncomfotable.

"Sorry about that, I must toss a lot in my sleep. Sometimes I'll wake up at the end of the bed, or with my legs hanging off the side, it's weird." He hoped Heero had a better sleep than he did. "How are you this morning?"

"I don't feel much better, mind if I sleep for a few more hours?"

The medicine must have kept him up, he did say it made him feel 'jumpy'. Duo flashed him a warm sleepy smile, "Go for it. Missy'll be here when you get up...s'that okay?"

"She's still going under the knife, don't think I've changed my mind."

"Never thought that for a second." Admittedly, he was beginning to question Missy's motives, and now he too wanted to know more. He thought that maybe Heero's paranoid train of thought was contagious, or maybe, '_He IS a robot! A brainwashing robot_!'

* * *

I like that my chapter title was a pun. Heero's name makes things like that easy. ;D

Okay, truth time: I got the chapter name from an old Samurai Pizza Cats episode. Evidently, some of the inspiration for this idea came from that same expisode as well. Giving your superhero characters the whole 'one weakness that rips the carpet out from under their feet' is humanizing to me. It's like superman's kryptonite, or young Goku's tail.

And if you don't know SPC, give it a watch if you can. It's so spoofy, fourth wall breaky, and choppy, it's totally worth watching.

Be warned: It's like watching what 4KIDS did to One Piece, except done intentionally and for the lulz. SPC is a shining example of the censors and localizers deciding they cared too much...or not enough, I'm not too sure.

Peace out.  
What did you think?


	22. Chapter 22: Lies and Alibis

I've come to love Shauna. She's blossomed and become a much stronger character! This story needs to keep going, I need to get this thought out there.

So far, Shauna is the only character I'm not basing on myself. The design for her actually came from one of my boyfriend's friends. I didn't know this person very long, but in the few times they were over here, I was blown away. For the oddest reason: I was humbled.

Now, I'm vain. I toot my own horn all the time. But this person...they struck me in such a way that it felt like I knew nothing. What I saw on the outside and the opinion I formed because of it really didn't do justice to the person that I came to understand a little later on. The opinion I'd formed wasn't a bad one, nor a judgmental one, it was just an opinion, nothing more. A few more interactions with them led me to realize how ignorant I was, and how thoughtless and useless my words could be at times.

Here's the thing, I've never fought with this person and we've had nothing but positive interactions. In fact, my boyfriend and this friend of his saved me from a maggot attack in my living room! They infested a baby blanket(Roommate's kid is a year old now! *muaaw*) that had milk spilled on it this summer past. They were so brave! The two of them vanquished the creepy*blech* insects.

So why did I feel so strongly about it?

I'm very reflective, that's why I felt the way I did about this person. I saw that some things I said resonated within them, all they could do was bite their tongue and continue on. They weren't thoughtless things I said-well-they were, but I had no way of knowing that...

I can't say any more than that without giving anything away, but an analog of this situation would be like: Making a joke about catching some illness and someone in the room actually _having_ that illness.

Shauna isn't physically sick, neither is the real person I'm basing her on...you'll see. I'll show, I won't tell. And don't worry, the pieces will all fall into place soon. I'm actually kind of nervous to be writing this...it's kind of a touchy subject for some.

I hope I don't cross any lines...

* * *

**Chapter 22: Lies and Alibis**

* * *

She sat in her room, surrounded by inspiration, in an attempt to distract herself from the argument with Quatre. Upsetting her brother to a point where he didn't want to speak to her wasn't a rewarding sensation. Shauna would have to make sure she walked on eggshells for the party and the outing coming up. '_Maybe not going at all is a better option_.' She picked up her cell phone from the sewing table and called her 'date'.

'_Hello_?' Trowa's voice came through the line.

"Hey, what's up?"

'_I just left a friend's place_.'

"Cool...uh, about the weekend."

If the sound of her voice was any indication, not all was at rest. '_Is Quatre still upset_?' And here he was sure the whole mess had been patched up too.

"No-well-yeah, but it was for something different this time. How's your friend, Heero?"

'_He's alright; Duo's going to be staying with him tonight_,' he said calmly, conveniently leaving out the parts where the guy began losing touch with reality. It didn't help, the sound of stifled sobbing was still permeating the speaker. '_Did something happen_?'

"Yes...I-um...it's...I don't think I'm going to be going out this weekend," she said with a sniffle.

'_Why not_?'

She explained what went on with the medicine and how she was misunderstood. Shauna did admit she put the extra alcohol in there to enhance the drowsiness aspect when taking it. An action, Trowa informed her, she was never to repeat. She agreed, saying, "That's why I think I should hang back home this time," her words were slowly regressing to bawling.

'_Don't worry about it, Heero's doing fine_.'

"But Duo called here asking what was in the medicine. It must have made him sick or something because Quatre was mad, he even locked himself in his room and asked me to leave him alone and now I'm starting to feel like..." she paused to think of a word that would rightfully depict how useless she felt. None came. "Like...what's the point anymore? I keep messing up. I'm thinking of moving back in with Jini," another sister, one she'd stayed with many times before. "She's only a couple hours away-"

'_Don't go and do that, it was a harmless mistake that no one is going to begrudge you for. And as for a 'point' to anything, I have no clue, all I know is that the alternative is worse_.'

"Alternative? What's that mean?"

'_It means __something else_,' he said, clarifying the big scary Japanese word. '_When you can't do one thing, you need to go to an alternative. In this case, the alternative would be 'doing nothing'_.'

"Still sounds better than _doing it all wrong_." She was in the same sour a mood she'd left her brother in.

'_Not even. I've seen what you can do. Things will go wrong from time to time, but if you seize up, you're taking away any chance to do it right. If you feel you need to redeem yourself, use this weekend to do so_.'

"That's if everyone will even have me." She still felt unsure if her presence was going to be welcomed at all. She had no way of telling if Quatre was going to inform the others; she knew even less about how they'd react if he did.

'_Heero's going to wake up tomorrow feeling fine and all this will pass. He's definitely not going to hold a grudge, he's bigger than that. You may be thinking too critically about the situation_.'

"I guess...Heh-hey, Quatre's right, you are good at this stuff."

'_I would say I practice a lot, but that'd be a lie_,' he joked, hoping it would cheer her up. It did, she laughed quietly. '_You're sounding better already. Now, does this mean you'll still be coming out with us this weekend? You can even use this chance to say goodbye to everyone. This is their last show before they leave_.' Trowa was talking about the Cirque du Soleil troupe; they would be picking up and heading back to Canada after the show that weekend.

She paused and slowly said,"...yeeeeah." Shauna was back in the game. "How am I supposed to get my name out there if I keep hiding?"

'_There's that ambition. Alex still has the garments you made her, you could pick them up at the same __time_.'

"That _was_ a 'Shauna-rijinal' I loaned her." 'Shauna-rijinal' was the temporary name she was giving her clothing label. "I do have the pattern, I can whip up another if I want...I'll go, but she can keep the dress. It's not like I have much to put in it anyway," she said and tapped her chest. Shauna felt the outfit in question was a bit too revealing for what she had(didn't have) to offer.

'_I don't see why that should matter. It would look amazing on you_.'

"You and your flattery," she chuckled, "Better be careful, don't want it to get you in trouble again."

He drew a nervous breath, '_This is true_.'

"Did she ever come back for her book?" Shauna was asking about someone he'd spent some time with a few months back.

'_No, but-it's funny you should mention that-I think I may have run into her again_.'

"No way! Get out! Where? Did she track you down or something? Is she bitter?"

'_I don't think so, it seems she's stumbled upon us_.'

"Us?"

'_Duo met her at the banquette last week and apparently made friends. She's going over to Wufei's tomorrow to help them clean up. I've successfully gotten out of helping_, b_ut I still have to do a garbage run for them_.' He actually would have loved to help out instead of going to school, but Missy being there didn't seem to bode well in his head. '_I hope she doesn't recognize me_.'

"Why not? I thought she was cool with...you know..."

'_Yes, that's all fine and good...I lost the book she lent me_.'

"Why did you borrow a book from a one night stand anyway?"

'_She said she'd be around town doing odd jobs, and that if she was meant to get the book back, I'd run into her_.' A tad esoteric, but he was rather sloshed when the agreement was agreed upon.

"And you go and lose it on her," she said with a few tongue clicks, "I guess it wasn't meant to be."

He laughed, '_It was nothing like that_.'

"Didn't look that way to me," she said in a playfully catty way.

He clarified, '_In the end, it ended up not being like that_.'

"Fair enough. Did you catch her name this time?"

'_It's Missy. And she's still got the dye job you gave her too. It's faded to pink now_,' he said, based on Duo's description.

Shauna didn't think it would actually last for three months. "Really? I wonder if she touched it up any-do you think she's coming this weekend too?" She now wanted to see her handiwork after it had been worn for a bit. The red color she put in Missy's hair was supposed to fade to a pastel pink within a couple weeks. Shauna was bummed that she wasn't going to get to see it when it was faded, but it looked like that wasn't a problem anymore. She'd have put it in her own hair to test it out, but she had already dyed it chestnut brown. The dye was useless to her, it wouldn't show up.

'_Not sure. Duo seems to have expressed an interest in her, so maybe_.' If Heero got convinced otherwise, she might tag along with them after all.

"Looks like you won't be able to avoid her for that long. Better hunt for that book. Thanks again for talking to me Trowa, I think things are going to look up. I got to stay positive."

'_No problem_.' After saying their goodbyes, Trowa pulled into the dorm parking lot.

He was grateful Missy didn't recognize him at the banquette. The station she worked at was right next to the people he was speaking with most of the night too. He passed by her many times before he even noticed it was her. He held his throat, confident that his voice wouldn't go unnoticed if they were in the same small room as one another. If she heard him speak, his cover was gone.

It wasn't just the book that was on his mind though; in fact, that was the least of his worries. '_Loose lips sink ships_,' he thought to himself. There were a couple other tidbits he may have leaked to Missy in a moment of carelessness. Said tidbits were now turning full circle and thusly coming back, presumably, to bite him where it hurt.

Heero expressed disdain when Duo mentioned being interested in Missy. How would he handle knowing that she spent an evening with him? It technically wasn't a 'full evening', but if any of his friends didn't trust her, it was probably with valid concern. Especially Heero, he was usually bang on with his speculations. Trowa began to worry about who this woman may be affiliated with and what her goals were.

The idea that she could be some sort of spy didn't cross his mind when they met. She was hired help for an evening, that was all. One of their dancers had taken a nasty fall and literally 'broke a leg' during a performance. They were fortunate Missy was nearby and offered her services right away. It just so happened that she was proficient in pole dancing, and even made a crack about it being the reason she could afford to put herself through school.

They didn't lose one performer on the night in question, the accident that day laid two victims up in the hospital. A loving couple that performed together, one with a tattered tibia and the other a cracked cranium. Trowa was put in place to take over for the guy, Missy for his wife. At the time, he hated the full face cover the costume sported, but now, the full mask was one of his two saving graces; the fact Missy was a bit _freaky_ in saying that 'not knowing who she was with would make it more exciting' was the other. He wasn't one to judge though, he _did_ agree to it.

Now he wondered if any of that was true. It was a rather strange coincidence that she should just happen to 'stumble' upon the rest of the group as she did. Maybe Heero was on to something. "Who is Missy?" Trowa speculated out loud. Whoever she was, he had to keep his distance.

Their _encounter_ was brief, he was sure the others wouldn't be upset with him for too long, even if he nearly slept with her. The other 'dirt' she had on him was something he was _positive_ none of them would let go. **Ever**. "Especially him..." Trowa shivered as he imagined the outcome if they found out. His face was flushing a bright red, he could feel it. Deciding that worrying about it wasn't going to do any good, he headed up to his dorm room for the evening.

He had to keep a couple things under wraps, it would be easy-peasy. Trowa figured that playing up a sore throat was going to be the best way to dodge Missy. He'd show up and say as few words as possible, lessening the chance of her being able to recognize any of his inflections.

Once a course of action was mentally laid out, Trowa gave his sister Catherine a call. Talking to Quatre's sister got him thinking about his own. She had been on a road trip for the past while and she was supposed to be getting home that night. He wanted to check in on her to see how it all went. She sounded tired on the phone, but happy just the same. "And you all got in alright?" he asked after hearing about the rest of her trip.

'_Every one of us, and we saved an hour by taking the mountain path. Gosh, it feels like I've been gone for such a long time_.'

Trowa's eyebrow cocked, "_But you haven't, you've only been gone for the weekend_," he said in an oddly suggestive way.

It then clicked with her, '_Right, I almost forgot_.'

"This close to showtime?" He was being subversive with his sister, in case anyone was around her. Had she remembered her lines?

'_I suppose the weekend was a bit harder on me than I expected. I guess I shouldn't have gone to that banquette before I left_," the subversity continued, "_I'm just glad it went well_."

"It did go well, didn't it?" Trowa was pleased, she was playing along perfectly. "Thank you again for coming with me to the dinner."

'_No problem, I had fun. And here I thought I'd be stopped on the way to your room_," she said with a giggle.

"I told you they'd have no problem with me inviting my sister up here."

'_Looks like I was worried for nothing. But I looked good, right_?'

"Flawless. To a tee. One of my friends was so impressed with your outfit, I caught him checking you out." This made Catherine burst out laughing. Trowa joined her. The ruse had gone over quite well. He even told her about the time Relena had passed him and his date in the hallway. "She didn't say a thing."

'_And she was so close too! How did she not notice_?'

"Shauna outdid herself, that's how." Trowa had gotten Shauna to make an outfit for his friend to wear that evening; it was so his real date could dress up like his sister and slip past the dorm security. When they got to his room she was quick to undress, reverting back to Alex in a matter of minutes. From the outside it sounded a little creepy, but it was the perfect plan; it went over flawlessly and even had a 'happy ending'.

Trowa wrapped up the conversation with his _real_ sister and gave his _real_ girlfriend a call.

* * *

Know who else threw me for a loop? Trowa. Seriously: Threw me. Watching the show growing up, I looked at Trowa as 'He's uber quiet, moody and the hair...he's EMO!'

I know way better now.

I think I write Shauna and Trowa simultaneously because, like my boyfriend's friend, Trowa ended up blowing me away too. I never knew his backstory until my boyfriend(I'll call him 'J' from now on, for simplicity's sake) brought in the manga 'Episode Zero' for me. He fished it out of his folks basement one day, remembering that I'd gotten back into it. The binding had given way and the book was in seven different pieces! All it's pages were present and readable to the very end.

And SNAP! Wufei did the same bloody thing to me! (I actually cried. A grown woman crying over a comic...maybe I should tell my therapist...Yes, the future therapist needs a therapist. I...am a double negative.)

Trowa and Wufei were the characters I liked the least growing up. It was because I didn't understand them. Now that I'm 'a big girl', I can honestly say I was a _very_ ignorant 'little girl' back then. But again, I didn't realize my thoughts were ignorant until now. I always assumed 3 and 5 were quiet because of some 'cool guy' factor and the surly attitude was merely upkeep.

Nope! These guys have had an exceptionally difficult life! Their mannerisms are a result of the defense mechanisms they've developed to help cope with the difficult truths they've accepted as constants...

Again, here I am, telling and not showing. I'll end up showing you what I mean.

So what do you think? My first Trowa chapter...kind of short, but it keeps things moving. :)


	23. Chapter 23: How I see: Duo Edition

I needed to do a dialogue chapter. Lots of talking in this one peeps!

Can you believe this only took about three hours to complete?

Sure, the thought was with me for a long time, but to get it down was nothing.

It's just, normally, things don't flow that smoothly...it's kind of throwing me.  
I think I should go buy a lottery ticket. 0_0

* * *

**Chapter 23: How I see: Duo Edition**

* * *

It was still early morning. The sun was up all the way, but the day still hadn't felt like it was ready to get going yet. Duo rested at the kitchen table, head down, his phone gently laying on the other cheek as it rang. He left his eyes closed. "They've got to be in by now," he said. No one was picking up. This was already his second attempt to call the attendance line. "...you could wait another ten minutes."

"I don't think...maybe...fine, ten more." Class marks counted toward the year end mark, Heero didn't want to get dinged for not calling off. He also didn't want to be awake, hence why he was still laying down beneath the covers on the pull-out. It was a conflicting morning right from the start; it would only escalate from there.

"You have until noon to call. If you fall asleep quickly, that's about five and a half hours. I can wake you up before then."

He checked his watch. "Is it really six?"

"Yes."

"I thought you were staying home. Why are you up so early?"

"I find waking up now is best. If I tried to go back down for more sleep, it would be _that_ much harder to get up again. I might as well stay up." The coffee began brewing in the kitchen with him. The smell was a pick-me-up all on it's own, it's aroma was invigorating. It was cheap instant stuff, but it was caffeine, that was all that mattered. "Coffee?" he asked, leaning in the room.

"Swill."

Back in.

"You've got to be exhausted by the end of the day." Heero began to wonder if there was a connection between Duo's sleep philosophy and his actual sleep patterns. They shared the fold out bed and it nearly ended Heero; the head lock Duo put him in, in his sleep, put a crimp in his neck. Duo's move brought new meaning to the term 'sleeper hold'.

"I'll end up taking a forty-five minute nap sometime today. I'm usually able to make it till ten before I start to feel tired if I do it that way."

Or not. Heero knew that resting throughout the day had positive effects on one's nighttime sleep, provided it was done properly. It sounded like Duo knew what he was talking about, but it was worth looking into more. "You have time to nap?"

"At lunchtime."

"When do you eat then?"

"After school."

"That's a long time to go without food. You get breakfast though?"

"Most of the time."

"How often is 'most'?"

"..."

"Duo...?"

"...I'm thinking." He was pouring the boiled water in his large mug. It mixed with the other ingredients while he contemplated.

"..."

"...Okay, so I forget breakfast a lot."

"Can I get a number of how many times you eat it a week?"

"...Couple times...maybe."

It didn't look like he was getting sleep yet. "Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm forgetting."

This caught his attention enough to sit him up and face his fasting friend. "Forgetting to eat?"

"_And_ money's been tight. I've had a restrictive budget for the past few months, so my food's been equally as restrictive." He was only allowed to receive funding, he couldn't get a job to supplement any extra expenses. Before that, he worked the landfill with Hilde for his money. Needless to say, there was an extensive difference in the availability of funds.

"You haven't thought to ask for help from any of us?"

'_Uh-oh_,' he thought. Hilde crossed his mind _and_ Heero was breathing down his neck about his eating; it was distraction time! He needed a tangent. "I have. I asked for coffee the other day; to which I might add, I only got water."

"I wasn't wasting my grounds."

"Fair. But still, I asked-ooh, I raided Quatre's fridge until he shut me out."

"That 'asking' thing needs to be exercised each time, I think."

Duo reentered the living room to drink his coffee. He sat on the chair with the not-a-tiger-blanket facing Heero. "And if I said 'Hey, can I eat all your beets?' what do you think he'd say?" Tangent: Initiated.

"You ate all those beets?"

"Damn right I did."

"That's impressive-no, still, there's no nutrition in beets."

"They were so good though, they must have something in them. What was it: 'Great taste, great for you." It was really the opposite, but it was stretching time nicely. Tangent: Pending.

"That's not how the rule works."

"There was the milk, that had nutrition...wait a sec..." He thought about how much of the milk he drank. "I think that's why I have a stomach ache."

"You have a stomach ache?"

Tangent is go! "Yeah, it started last night." He rubbed the sore spot under his left rib, the spot that hurt the most.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"You were tripping balls, I didn't want to freak you out any."

"Tripping b-" the saying stunned him, he couldn't get it all out. "Come again?"

"Tripping balls? Hallucinating."

"I wasn't."

"Then you tell me what all that was."

"It..." He paused for a long time

"I'm waiting."

"I'm thinking..." He mirrored Duo's line. '_It is happening_!' It was spreading further.

"..."

"...I don't know. I wasn't seeing things from nowhere. I was mistaking things that were_ actually there_ for things that _weren't there at all._..and...as I'm saying this, I realize...that's what hallucinating is...isn't it?" When someone says 'hallucinating', presumably it meant the person was seeing pink elephants in their refrigerator, not the mild form of altered perception Heero was enduring.

"I think so. I was sure that's what it was when Trowa was here and you jumped halfway across the room. I had no clue what you must have seen, for all it could have been-"

"It was a tiger." This caused Duo to burst out laughing. "Go ahead...get it out of your system." Heero turned some and sat with his legs hanging off the bed. They had been falling asleep beneath him for the last little while, and Duo looked like he was going to enjoy that tidbit for a few minutes.

"A tiger?!" He hooted and looked at the chair with the blanket still on it. "I can see how you got a tiger from that."

"Don't rationalize it."

"I'm not."

"Whatever. What were we talking about again?" The conversation had slid rather far off course.

Duo shrugged.

He snapped a finger. "...food, right."

"Damn," he said.

"Damn? Why 'damn'?"

"Because I'm eating right, you don't need to harp on me for it."

"I'm worried. Relena said you were really light when she carried you down to her car."

"Relena carried me? When?" Tangent: initiated!

"Yes. The night she brought you home, you couldn't walk right. She said you were lighter than both Quatre and myself." Heero figured he weighed more than Duo, but not Quatre.

"No joke? The princess actually carried me?"

"Yes, why is this hard for you to accept?" He was talking about his weight issue, but of course, Duo was in his own little world.

Tangent: Pending. "Because she's a princess! I carry princesses! They don't carry me!" He was embarrassed now. The tangent apparently came with a hefty price tag: His 'cool guy factor'.

"Duo, that's-"

"A princess who-" His eyes went very wide with wonder and he kept going, "Who owns a truck...and has a boyfriend who can't hold his booze. Hmm, interesting." He stroaked his invisi-beard.

"I'm sick. Sick people shouldn't drink-and I told you, we aren't dating."

"Sure, sure. And the other times? Were you sick then too?"

"Maybe? Stop turning this around."

Tangent: Building mass. "No man, you want to talk, we talk freely. No borders."

"..." He was getting the feeling this 'freely' wasn't going to be without certain fluctuating stipulations.

"..."

"...What are you getting at Duo?"

"I'm just saying...it looks like Relena's taken the lead in your relationship."

"We don't have-" He stopped mid-sentence, "What do you mean lead?"

Tangent has reached critical mass! Tangent: Launched! Duo mentally celebrated. "She's the dominant one. I'll be honest, I'm surprised. I really thought it'd be you." He folded his arms and lowered his head slightly with a shake. It wasn't because Heero had 'let him down' in any way, he'd never think that. It was because of himself, he initially judged the situation incorrectly, that wasn't cool. He had to set it straight.

"You're not making any sense."

"Sure I am," he said with an enlightened smile.

The smile was a good sign. Poking around in his physical health issues seemed to be making waves. He never knew Duo was sensitive about his weight. The topic was allowed to meander; hopefully letting him go off for a few minutes was what he needed to unwind. Heero had to control the conversation, he hadn't been fairing well the whole time. His fatigue put him at a disadvantage, he found it hard to keep up with Duo's rapidly progressing train of thought. "Go ahead: Explain." Heero sighed, '_This should get him back on track...wait...why does that make sense_?' It seemed it was a contradictory notion.

"Are you sure you want to hear this? It _could_ rock your world. I don't necessarily mean for the better...but-" he shrugged, "I suppose that would vary from person to person. I mean, this breakdown may be one of the better things I've come up with. You could learn a lot fro-"

"Yes, I want to hear, now get on with it." He gave Duo the floor, figuratively, with a hand gesture.

"Okay...You-" His phone rang, "Oh, hang on."

Heero fell backwards into the bundled blankets. All that build up for a bust.

"...hey Quatre...sure, I can put you on speaker." He bliped a button.

'_Can you hear me_?'

"Yup," Heero said.

"Loud and clear."

'_Okay, it's about the cough medicine you had last night_.' And a vivid explanation ensued, including the confession and concerns of the accused. It was made clear that the mixture was to be poured out, the bottle kept for future reference and any actions taken to create such a concoction, were never to be repeated. Shauna agreed to the conditions and thanked them for being so forgiving.

"One last thing Quatre," Heero said, "Can you read off the medical ingredients for me?" He wanted to know which chemical made him react 'all funny'. Not only to avoid it in the future, but to see if Duo was right in saying his experience was with 'hallucinating'. He assumed Duo was right, but seeing it written down and explained further was ideal.

'_Honestly? I can't pronounce most of them, I don't think it would do you any good. I could bring the bottle over to Wufei's after school today. Is that where you guys are?_'

"That's right. Sounds fine by me. Do you mind?" He looked to Duo.

"The more the merrier! You can help us clean."

'_Is it that bad_?' Quatre asked, having never been to Wufei's before.

"Kind of, but we're making head way."

'_I'd love to help out. I'll be over when I'm done. There's a few things I need to take care of before the weekend, guests and such. But I'll be over right afterward_.'

"Cool. Everything alright with your sister? She still coming tomorrow?" Duo queried.

'_She is, don't worry. I'm sorry about overreacting yesterday. Everything's been weighing on me a lot lately, I kind of snapped_.' He sounded embarrassed.

"It's okay, buddy, we've all been feelin' it. This week sucked us all dry, a party is just what the doctor ordered." Successfully securing another pair of hands for the day's work, he let Quatre go and decided it best to try the school one last time. Heero really needed sleep, he was fading faster than he was yesterday. "..." Duo let it ring for a time. "...nothing."

"I'm waiting. I know that if I fall asleep now, they'll pick up."

"I hate how that works. It's the same if you're waiting for a cab: The moment you choose to 'sit down' and wait for it, the cab decides it's time to show up."

"You notice the strangest things."

He felt Heero was going to go back to the 'food' topic if he didn't do something quick. "What can I say? I'm observant. It's like my take on the 'Rx1 theory'? Wanna hear it?" Tangent: Initiated.

"...the what-"

"The 'Rx1 theory' has been described for many years-two years-and its details perfected through rigorous testing and exposure-"

"-please tell me you haven't rehearsed any of this."

He shook his head, "No, it's off the cuff." Tangent: Pending.

"What does it stand for? Is the 'R' for Relena or something?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm the '1'? Isn't it the guy's name supposed to come first in this sort of thing?"

"It is. It does. Relena's the guy in your relationship."

"See, you've gone and stopped making sense again."

"Let me explain." All your tangent are belong to Duo! He got ready to count out all the points on his fingers for Heero to see. "First off, how you met. It was all mysterious and what not, right?" That was one.

"You can say that...and that's a common male archetype. How are you seeing it as feminine?"

"Hang in there, I'll get to it. After that, you kept pulling power moves." A finger was used to mark each of his points, "Making yourself elusive. Voicing your lack of concern for her safety. Showing up at the right times to save her anyway. Behaving recklessly-"

"How?"

"Self destructing."

"Kay," he just wanted to know what he was referring to.

Finger total now being five, he continued, "After the war, when we start to get a somewhat normal life on the go, you still refuse to disclose any information about your personal life." Six.

"Again, I don't see where this is goi-"

"-you're impatient," a seventh finger, "Impulsive. Indecisive. Self absorbed-"

"-Hey-"

"-Moody. You have the alcohol tolerance of a little girl-"

"-I told you I've been sick-"

"-Loads of denial. And finally, you go to excessive lengths to get what you want."

"Now that you've called out all my flaws, I hope you plan to make a point. I didn't stay awake so you could sit there and insult me."

"Insult you? Flaws? They're qualities! And I happen to like all fourteen of them. For what it's worth, if I tried to point out all my own, not only would we be here all day, but I'd have to be some weird, freaky octopus creature to accurately tabulate them all like this." He wiggled his fingers. Counting to twenty on them was fine, after that, he'd lose track easily.

Heero laughed.

"Why's that so funny?"

"It's not that...just go on."

"No way, not till you tell."

He snickered, "Duoctopus." Duo burst out laughing again. "See...that's why."

When enough of the 'funny' of that mental image finally passed, Duo went on, but not before blotting a tear from his eye, "Oh, that's great. That drawing needs to happen. Back on track though-"

"-You got some nerve saying that," Heero announced.

He laughed nervously, "W-well, you see, those qualities I mentioned, aside from a few toward the end, are mostly male dominated. But there were a lot of 'androgynous' traits I couldn't get my head around."

"...and you're sure you've never thought about this before hand? The way you're talking about it leads me to believe-"

"I've been thinking about it for the past seven minutes, that's long enough to start talking about it in past tense."

"O-okay then..."

"When I reached a dead end on the idea," it seemed he was further within the tangent now, "I began to look at Relena's traits, to see if I could make any sense of it that way. And let me tell you...it blew me away when I realized it."

"And it blew you away within the last few minutes?"

"Yes. I mean, I'd seen it for a while, but only when we started talking today did I give it any deeper thought. More precisely, when my eyes went wide back there, that was when the 'blowing away' part happened."

"Seems right." He recalled Duo's expression brightening earlier.

"Well, she's interesting. Add in the stuff I found out from you last night and, woo, it totally makes you guys make so much more sense." He assumed the 'I'm going to count stuff' position. "She chases you. She's rich. A pacifist. Beautiful. Fit. Gorgeous hair. She can run the track in record time." He could see his descriptions making Heero antsy. '_I knew it_.' He went back to his real observations. "She Has a high ranking title and is respected in the public eye as one of the most influential people of our generation."

"Your point?"

"And now I know she also collects cars, can carry a near full grown man down several flights of stairs three separate times and can effectively drink you under the table...I'm sorry to say Heero, but Relena's the man in your relationship." The scientists at 'Tangent HQ' popped champagne. The high fives were flying over the success of the safe tangent landing.

"That's ridiculous."

"Hey, she's got way more masculine traits than you."

He was right, "That still doesn't prove anything," but Heero wasn't letting him have it.

"Sure it does, my math isn't wrong. Numbers don't lie," he said and sipped his coffee. "Bottom line: Relena is the rich, chivalrous bureaucrat who gives chase, and you're the sassy Asian chick who plays hard to get."

He **was** right. "You...that's...I'm going to bed."

"Don't get all bent out of shape. If it makes you feel any better, Quatre's got way more feminine traits than you do."

"Why would it make me feel..." There was a pause. "...like what traits?"

Duo assumed the position of 'the count' again, "The guy dresses way too nicely. Too polite. He can't drink either. Bakes in his spare time. The piano. I saw about six different credit cars in his wallet once, I nearly did a spit take-"

"-Why are credit cards a feminine trait?"

"No-no, 'six cards' are."

"I see," it was the quantity of cards. "Now that you mention it...why would he need that many?"

"No clue, but I bet it's related to shopping."

"Duo...are you serious about all this?" There was a chance this was part of the 'scene' Duo was entertaining himself with, but he was hitting 'home' with a lot of these observations, so it was best to check.

"I don't lie, dammit."

"Then, what about you? What are your more dominant qualities? Male or female?"

"Male, of course," he said as if there shouldn't have been a reason to ask.

"Even with the long hair?"

"That's not a feminine quality."

"Here we go again," Heero said, accepting the fact he was probably not going to get much sleep. He rested his cheeks on his fists and propped his head up with his knees. "Why isn't it feminine?."

"My braid is **for** the ladies."

"Meaning?"

"Girls look for traits in guys that they'd like to see in themselves."

"What if the girl doesn't like long hair?"

"I can't please everyone. Most girls love long hair, so four out of five works fine for me."

"Okay...what else?"

"My boots, I never wear low quality footwear. It's a sign I want to have sturdy stance. A man's got a be a strong supporter, doesn't he? The black clothing is the cool factor. So are the sunglasses. I'm a hacker. A nomad. I can get along with pretty much everyone. The girls just love me! I can sing with soul! I'm the 'god of death'!" He beamed.

"I get your point," he tried to dismiss him.

"But I'm not done yet."

"I am." He rolled over.

"Fine. Hold on, let me try one more time."

Heero sat back up.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Nothing. "Not yet. What time to you want me to wake you to call?"

Heero looked at the time, "...get me at quarter to twelve." Fifteen minutes to call the folks at attendance was more than enough time. He kept quiet for a few minutes, but he had one final question that needed to be answered. "Duo..."

Duo was in the other room making toast, he came back in briefly. "Yes?"

"Why do you notice these things? Are they that important to you?" He never thought Duo was so superficial before.

"Kind of..."

"Why?"

"Because diversity is freaking awesome! Do you realize how many different kinds of girls we draw?!" he said, again, as if there was no need to ask. "If not for our perfect mix, we wouldn't have as big a following." He slowly nodded.

Superficial? False alarm. "...I can't believe I stayed up for all that," Heero said face down into the bed.

* * *

How was that for a quick update? XD

*fluke*


	24. Chapter 24: My Locus: Duo Edition

Oh dear god, this chapter had to happen. My f****** wrist is killing me. For f*** sake's, I can't take it anymore! I need to find some sort of f****** program to type for me! F***! Swearing doesn't even f****** work to take my mind off the f****** pain anymore...f***...

Sorry...here we go.

...You know, none of this was typed already! I'm doing it and posting it! I'm on a roll...I hate it...stupid manic days.

Hmm...idea time...How about manic Duo?

* * *

**Chapter 24: My Locus: Duo Edition**

* * *

The attendance line was a fickle mistress. Heero dozed off and Duo was able to get through about three minutes later. "Never fails," he said to him quietly. Duo began picking things up for a few minutes to get the blood flowing. It worked like a charm.

Checking his watch revealed that Missy would be showing up at any moment. Timing was everything. He needed to swoon her into going before Heero woke up and began his interrogation. She'd be less likely to cancel on him if he managed to ask before his friend scared her off. It was a race against the clock. The microwave finished heating his drink and Duo caught the time on the front. He compared it to the time on his phone, they were the exact same. Synchronized. He felt it was good luck somehow. "Who am I kidding, it's in the bag."

How was he going to approach her though? If he was too forward, she'd notice and shoot him down right away. She was good at that. He'd have to make the request seem as thought they'd stumbled upon it. "..." How would he bring up the circus? It wasn't like it was a thing people regularly went to, so it was a bit of a stretch. "To lead into it..."

A book caught his eye, it was one he'd stolen. Not stolen for good, it was Trowa's. He had every intention to give it back when he was finished. A stout novel, it was about reading facial expressions. At first he thought Trowa was trying to practice or something. That thought faded when he started to notice the guy actively looking for certain things when talking to other people. Mainly he looked for compensation in expressions and asked probing questions to provoke a reaction; he said he even cornered Heero with it once. And while he said he didn't have much success, he knew Trowa always knew more than he let on. He figured taking the book would give him an edge.

"Come to think of it..." he said to no one, "Missy was doing that too...huh. Maybe Heero was right." He paused in shock and leaned in the living room to see Heero, snoozing away, "You didn't hear that," he told him. Of course he didn't, he was dead to the world. "...perfect." Back to the hook: The book.

"No! Wait...I can't..." If he wanted to read any of her expressions, he couldn't let her know he _knew_ how to. He had read through most of it already, she would definitely start acting for sure if she saw him looking. The book needed to be planted. "Set up...set up...set...up...up there." Top of the fridge. It worked well. The bookshelf Wufei had around was stacked with junk, bundles of paper and a few record books, leaving no actual place to put the novel. It's place atop the fridge seemed genuine. He even piled a few things around to complete the illusion that it had been there for a while. One of those things was an empty sake bottle; one he had missed. He'd get it after Missy was there, he wasn't making any extra trips to the basement.

Quatre then crossed his mind, and how they helped him that night when he was in the bottle. Now that he thought back to it, Quatre's actions didn't seem genuine either. "Oh god, it's spreading!" He looked around the corner, "You're infectious, ya hear! ...you can't hear me. You're no fun when you're asleep." He still had time to kill, 'how to murder it' was the question.

Duo caught his passing reflection on a mirror. His hair was all messed up. "How did that happen?" Little did he know he got it by mauling someone in his sleep. "Glad I caught it," he said and began taking the braid out and aligning all the strands again. "Hey!" He swooshed his top half around the corner again. "How come you didn't tell me I looked like a train wreck? Trying to sabotage me, eh? I'll fix your wagon," he snickered and went back the full length mirror he had brought in. It was the one thing Wufei didn't have; he had no idea how the guy functioned with only a bathroom mirror.

Elbows raised to finish a portion of his braid, he took note to how trim his waist line was. Duo had darned a new loophole on his belt to draw it tighter. It went so far that the tongue of the belt stuck out at his side a few inches. He remembered how it pulsed on his hip bones the day he walked the town with a hangover. If not for people giving him free money(his funding), he'd have stayed on Heero's floor the whole day.

He paused in reflection, "Hip bones?" He had thought it, so saying it out loud seemed like a good enough idea as any. Lifting his shirt revealed little muscle definition. "Not much loss...but enough for me to notice. This isn't cool." With the shirt up past his navel, it really showed off how much more slender he was. His stomach was flat, all the way to his ribs, which he was positive were starting to poke out some. But only the bottom ones. He deemed it 'no so bad'. His pants bunched in a few spots where the belt pulled them taught. It only served to accent the tiny waist staring back at him. He _had_ gotten really thin. "It's all that walking." He blamed the exercise, not the lack of calories.

Was he talking to his reflection? "I'm eating enough. When I was out with Quatre, I ate, like, five things in one sitting." He counted the cheesy, melted sandwich he had before he ate with Quatre as two things. "It was huge. Did I finish it?" He couldn't remember if the container was completely vacant when he ditched it. Why couldn't he remember? "...oh yeah," he said with a chuckle. That was also the same day he smoked up with that girl Kumi, and her friend, on the train. His memory was probably bad because of that.

Tangent: Accidental activation! Begin abort process! "The last time..." he began and then paused. He was considering having a few puffs on that joint to make the cleaning more interesting. Duo was alone when he cleaned high, having other people around who may not approve of using such a substance might have proved too stressful. That would defeat the purpose of using it in the first place. Since he didn't have enough confidence in his ability to hide the smell in a house, ultimately, he decided it was a bad idea to bring out. He remembered what Yumi had said: Not everyone was cool with it. Tangent Abort: Successful.

Duo went back to the mirror and his jaw fell open in shock. He had his hair half finished with the unbraided portion hanging down in front. It was long. His shirt had been comfortably folded up into a belly top, where it decided it had no problem staying due to it's snugness. And again, to his waist and hips, the belt made them look like they went out a little. "Long hair...tight shirt...thin waist with curvy hips...worried about appearance...sneaky seduction techniques...and I left my ginger tea in the microwave..." If it wasn't staring him in the face, he wouldn't have believed it. "...I...no...our mix. What have I done?" Duo lamented over the tragic discovery. "And I'm cleaning Wufei's house like a good little slave girl! Noooo!" He threw his hands in the air in defeat, letting the braid go. He had gone and done it, he threw off the ratio. Their group had three 'girls' now! It was all ruined.

"Maybe this is okay...maybe it's always been like this..." he said as he looked at the first loop he made in the belt. It wasn't the hole he was currently using. Duo didn't put the puncture in the right spot the first time, so he needed to make a second hole further down. It was where it was. Tight. "No, it hasn't always been like this, don't lie." Lying to himself was the worst, half the time he didn't notice he was doing it. The rest of the world called that sort of act 'rationalizing'.

His guts were telling him that worry wasn't a good thing to be doing. "I hoped the ginger tea would settle this...but now it's making me feel worse...stupid fancy, feminine tea. Dammitall!" The thought of the tea was what plagued him, not the beverage itself. He went back to braiding his hair.

Why had he listened to Quatre? It really compromised his position. "Wait...I didn't listen to Quatre!" he raised his fists in the air, letting the undone braid down again. "He said it soothed and healed nausea! I have indigestion, it's not for this! I didn't listen! Masculine trait!" When he said that, he realized, "Wait...if I remember now...that means I did listen...and because it's not for this illness, it means I just wanted to try it. That's even worse." He pulled his shirt down with melancholy effort. "...there's still hope!" He rushed to the kitchen. "If I don't like it..." he took it out of the microwave and felt the bottom. "So warm..." He paused to enjoy the lovely warmth. "NO! Dammit!" he yelled and ceased cuddling with the mug.

Turns over, 'Ohnoduotheoctopus,' Heero said in his sleep.

"...you said 'Oh no, Duo! The octopus!'...but I want to believe you meant 'Oh no! Duo the Octopus!" He laughed, remembering the pun Heero made earlier. "What are you dreaming up?" He sipped the tea and enjoyed the fact he was a star in other people's dreams too, not just his own. "This isn't bad," he said and looked down at the tea. Shock. It wasn't bad. It was horrible! "I like it..." Aweful. Just aweful. He looked back at Heero, "I'm glad you're happy." He was sure Heero would have been rubbing it in by now, so he gave him credit. "Happy...and dreaming about me," he said, causing himself to blush. "Are you kidding me!?" He touched his cheek, it felt warm. All this was happening at once, and it didn't help that they shared a bed that night past. "I'm stressed is all," he said and went back to considering the joint a second time. Tangent: Initia-.

The doorbell rang, shaking the tangent away. '_Probably for the best_,' he quickly thought. If he used pot to get his mind off this issue, and it worked well, he may want to do it again. No guarantees he'd have a joint at all times, it was better to go 'au natural'. He let Missy in.

"This isn't bad at all," were the first words to carelessly flutter into the room.

"After I was through with it," Duo assured her, "The basement is much worse. Sixteen recycle bags later and we still don't have a halfway mark."

"Sixteen? Can I see the..." she slowly pointed around the house for the direction of the door.

"Sure, it's over here," he said and led the way to the cellar.

"Did you want to finish putting your hair up first?"

Duo froze in step. He looked down to see the elastics he used still on his wrist. He used two, for the sake of using two. No, that was a lie. He had to stop lying to himself. "I got lost in thought," he said. Finishing the 'do', he put the two elastics in the end. The second elastic offered support, it stopped the first one from slipping down. His hair was getting longer, so the end was getting a bit thin and the regular tie he used just didn't cut it anymore. '_Spacy...obsessed with my hair...takes forever to get ready...really thin..._'

"Something the matter?"

"No, I'm...I'm worried..."

"Don't be, I'm here to help."

"..." He wasn't worried about that, but he went along with it, "Why though?"

"Hmm?" she said, sounding confused. And here she thought Duo was the only one who trusted her fully; it seemed he was talking to the others. This was the first time he'd treated her with contempt.

"-I'm sorry," he dropped the issue, "I'm not fully awake yet, I'm cranky."

"You don't owe me an apology, I'm kind of intruding. Honestly, I'm here because I feel like I owe you still."

"You paid me back plenty."

"It didn't feel like it."

"Why not?"

"Because it wasn't...a drink was the thing that got you into a mess the first time. Why would doing it a second time be a mend for the situation?"

"...point taken."

"I misjudged you Duo, I feel bad. I want to make it up to you."

"How? I was planning on hitting on you."

"Yeah, but I get that all the time. Do you realize how broke I'd be if I saturated everyone I didn't want hitting on me?"

"Broke? What do you mean?"

"I paid for all the extras I served you."

"Why would you go and do that?"

She sighed and hesitated. "You really want to know?"

"Uh, yeah," he said with certainty.

Missy's hand disappeared into her pocket and emerged with a familiar object. A syringe. "I saw you spike Heero's drink-"

"-And you-"

"-Didn't know who you were. I still don't know what all the other gundam pilots look like either. I haven't met Trowa or Wufei yet."

"Trowa was the tall guy with the hair over one side of his face, and Wufei was playing blackjack the night of the banquette."

She nodded, "Well then...I know what you all look like now." She laughed. "I was only familiar with Heero's appearance when I started running into all of you; to think, I almost missed you guys. I _did_ know that one of you had a long braid, but I didn't see it when you sat down that night. When I saw you drop something in your friend's cup and then you came to sit down I thought..."

"You thought you'd get even with the asshole who spiked Heero's drink," he said and saw a slow nod that said 'sorry'. "...I'd have done the same thing. No hard feelings then." He chuckled, "You a fan or something?" Maybe hitting on her didn't work because he wasn't the one she was interested in.

"You could say that. I'm glad you're so easy going, I thought that the hammer was going to fall hard for that mishap." They went downstairs. "Holy..."

"That's what Heero said." Duo trotted off through the trash. The bag box was at the back of the room.

"Did...did he not have a bucket...or a wood chipper...are those potatoes? Or coal?" She pointed off near the large glass back doors.

"I'm not sure..."

"...do you have a shovel?"

"Will you'll understand if I don't know where anything's at?"

"Yes."

"Then, I have no clue."

"...can I go put my shoes back on?"

"Go for it," he said, "Grab mine too, please?"

"I was planning on it," she said and left.

"..." He noticed her staring. He wasn't totally ready to be seen when she showed up, but now he was fine. He was sure she was staring _at him_ though. '_Girls always check me out...why's it bothering me now_?' He thought that maybe Heero's warning may have soured his plan to flirt with her, he just wasn't feeling it anymore. 'Or...no...' he thought about it some more and caught his vague reflection in the back door. He didn't realize it, but it bent his image slightly, making him a tsetse bit thinner. "Why would she be staring at that?" He sounded angry with himself as he felt along the finely defined line that his collar bone made. The light right above his head cast a contrasting, unflattering shadow in the pit it made in his neck. Why had he gotten so slender? Was he really not eating properly?

"It must..." When he heard Missy's foot falls again, he yelled to her, "Could you grab the sweater on the back of the door too? It's cold down here." It was a bit chilly, but moving around would have fixed that. He just wanted to cover up; cover up until he could make sense of his health.

They got to work. Duo wore the sweater to hide his frame, something he'd never done before. It made him feel awkward. He stopped barely an hour in, unable to deal with the sensation anymore. "I gotta ask you," he said. Missy was gathering all the recyclables that didn't carry a deposit when she paused. "Who are you?"

"Missy?"

"No, I want to know who you really are. Why are you seeking us out?"

"You think I was hunting you down or something?"

"Aren't you?" He saw that his statement caught her off guard. Looks like Heero was right, she was hiding something. But what?

"No. You're not being hunted. I know Jeff," Quatre's regular driver, "He mentioned that he drove for the Winner family a while ago and I asked if I could swap with him."

"Why?"

"I told you, I wanted to apologize."

"That's a lie."

"It's not."

"Well, then..." He saw truth in her expression. "Then...that's not all of it. What are you leaving out?"

"Duo...did you just ask me over here for all this?"

He stopped and looked back on the things he'd been saying. "I-I'm so sorry Missy. No it isn't," in fact, it was the reason Heero wanted her over, not him.

"Did something else happen? You seem kind of lost in thought." As she said this, her head bobbed lightly, looking at his face from a couple different angles.

Duo noticed this and let it slide. If she was looking for his expressions now, it was because of general concern. He knew the expression he held was that of confusion, mixed with sadness. If she wanted to know how he was really feeling, it was probably because she wanted to help. '_But how do I know it's 'general concern' and not her digging for gossip_?' he thought. Duo did the same thing to her, but to a lesser extent. He could tell she wasn't digging up dirt, her face said it all. She was worried. And, like him, scared. He had scared her? How?

He was clamming up, she pryed, "Talk to me, is it something I did?"

"...I want to know who you are." He said again, now his hands held his elbows, shivering some. She was honest, but there was still something she wasn't coming forward with.

"Duo...I..." Pause and sigh. "I don't know what to tell you, I am who I am."

And there it was. Exasperation. He had cornered her. "What?" he was getting lippy now, his word had bite. He was going to get the answer before Heero. "Both Heero and Quatre could tell you were leading the conversation. Why?"

"...I'm just a thearapist."

"AH-HA! Wait...what?" His 'attack' stance had the carpet wipped out from beneath him. '_She admitted to it_?'

"What were you expecting?"

"Dunno. A spy, an assassin, ninja...assassin-spy...ninja-assassin-nah, that's stupid." Tangent: Huh? He lost it.

She laughed, "Nope. Just a squishy psychologist. And there's only one of me." She thought, '_Why ninja's? What is this guys background track like_?'.

Duo lowered his head. Even if she was there to spy on them, it looked like it might have been for the better. "I get it now..." He looked around. The place was a disaster. His stomach still hurt. "Heero at the banquette. My weight. Quatre's outburst. Wufei's drinking. Trowa's absence from school. You serving us alcohol and offering to help with this. Then being able to locate us effortlessly..." He looked her straight in the eye, "You're with the school board, aren't you?" The principal had their backs, to their faces and behind the scenes it seemed.

Missy could see him staring intently at her facial features. He wasn't just looking _at her_, he was searching for compensation. She was caught. Lying to him now would more than likely get her a one way ticket to never speaking to any of them, ever. Her smile must have given it away. Not that she was happy about her cover being blown, but to be in the presence of such a mind while it was at work, was invigorating. Her expression warmed and her hands raised to head level, "You got me."

* * *

I'm on a Duo kick.

There will be 'at least' one more like this, playing off the other chapter's names, so I hope you're in a Duo mood. Cause I am! XD


	25. Chapter 25: Open: To Someone New

*wank* Heero chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 25: Open: To Someone New**

* * *

Duo cleaned on the side of the room furthest from Missy. '_A therapist_.' He wasn't a fan. "I'm curious...you say 'help', but do you really mean 'psychoanalize and medicate'?"

'...' Was that what he really thought she was there for? "Possibly two of those. I'll give you a hint, I won't be the one throwing any pills at you." She was cleaning the coal briquettes from the carpet, the bag had toppled over. She was glad they weren't potatoes.

He scoffed, "That's good." 'For now' he meant.

"Don't like the pills? Or don't like being told you have to take them?"

He pointed a finger at her, rapidly pulsating it, "Thaaaat. That's what I'm talking about."

"What?"

"I don't lie! I say what I mean! So don't try to put words in my mouth. Cyclical questioning like that is a 'catch 22', and you won't be pulling _any_ of that on _me_."

'_He's quick_,' she thought. "...you've done this before?"

He shook his head in disbelief, "There you go again...you don't get it." He sighed, "I'm not talking while we clean. Wait till Heero gets up."

"When will that be? I do have the day for this, but I'd still like to get a wake-time to plan everything out." She flashed her PDA.

"He needs to call someone before noon, so I'm letting him go until quarter to twelve," the time the attendance line closed.

"When did you guys go to bed?"

"You don't stop, do you? Not late. _He_ didn't sleep well. Medicine, remember?"

"I never stop. Even so, you shouldn't let him sleep that long. Wake him exactly four and a half hours from the time he nodded off."

"That won't be enough."

"If you wake him while he's between sleep cycles, he'll be less tired when he gets up."

"...and you're sure about that?"

"If it doesn't work, I'll take the blame."

"..."

"What?"

"...nothing. Keep cleaning." He no longer cared, he had morphed into Heero Yuy, full tilt.

"..." Missy worried she may be asked to leave, she had really upset Duo somehow. From the looks of it, just _being_ there was enough to set him off, now that he knew why she was around. She cleaned until it was time to wake Heero. She decided to tell them as much as she could without compromising her own operation.

When shaken awake, he wasted no time getting into questions, "So, exactly, who are you?"

Before Missy could even open her mouth, Duo was dropping facts, "The school seems to be sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong. She's a psychiatrist, courtesy of our bloody education system."

"I'm a clinical psychologist and therapist, so I can't prescribe pills like a psychiatrist can. I study and assess people in situations like yourselves and seek to remedy conflicts by offering alternative lifestyle arrangements."

He looked to Duo, "There _is_ a difference," Heero was the one to defend her this time.

"Not much," Duo wasn't budging.

"What are your capabilities? I need to know what the school has given you clearance for." Heero was into it now.

"That's the funny thing. Since you guys are a special case, I've been granted a lot more freedom with you. So long as I don't fraternize with any of you, I've got pretty much full range...with some obvious limitations. Only, safety issues and other common sense stuff like that."

"_Special case_," Duo said and folded his arms tighter, still holding his elbows, "You're implying...?"

She gave him a blank stare. "...You really don't like me anymore...I'm kind of bummed."

Duo rolled his eyes, "That may change if you consider some lifestyle alternatives."

Heero snapped, "Duo!"

"What? I don't like liars!"

"I didn't lie."

"Oh yeah," he said and propped himself up on his knees, the not-tiger-blanket beneath him, "Not at all?"

"Not once!" She defended. "I've equivocated the hell out of things, but not lie-"

"-Do you have a sister?"

"What?"

"Do you?

"...yes."

"Why the hesitation?"

"She's in Canada."

"See! A lie! You said she was at the other school."

"The word 'sister' means something different here in Japan. She's a close friend of mine, that's what I meant. It was the principal at the other school, we're tight, I swear."

"Cop out!"

"I was trying to stay hidden."

"Why?"

"Because if you knew who I really was from the start, you never would have spoken to me!" She was getting angry. "I was instructed to gather information on you guys candidly to avoid any outward bias. Yet here we are, dealing with the bias."

Duo went silent. When he finally came around. "...that still doesn't explain _why_ you're here. Why do you need the information?"

She pulled out the bag she'd arrived with and began clasping various files within between her fingers. Missy laid the five rather small files on the coffee table for both of them to see. "Do you know what these are?"

The two guys looked them over. Heero piped up, from behind the pillow that hid him, "Medical records?" Duo's attack had gotten too vicious for first thing in the morning, so he hid. Only a bit.

"Correct." She picked up Wufei's file, "This is the only one that's complete," she said. "Heero, yours was missing chunks, as was Trowa's. Quatre's looked like it was _intentionally_ turned into Swiss cheese. And Duo, we don't have _any_ medical records for you before age fourteen, and what we do have isn't pretty."

"You're not getting them."

"Do you have them somewhere? We need them."

"I've made it this far without them, I doubt you'll be needing them any time soon."

"Duo..." Heero tried to say something.

"What? Don't you go bringing anything up again," he said with contempt.

"Bring up what?" Missy asked.

Heero turned away, silent.

"...guys...?"

Silence from Duo.

Silence from Heero.

She sighed. "I won't ask. Can we stay on this though, please," she asked and pointed to the papers. They came back, only to listen. "We need to do some-"

"What was the thing that made them send you? Why do we have to deal with this invasion of privacy?" Duo would not let up, he was on a tirade.

"It wasn't _one_ thing. And it wasn't _one_ person. _And _you're not the only ones," she assured them.

"Then who else," Duo wanted to know.

"I can't say, that's a breach of 'patient confidentially'. Let's just say, everyone who's enlisted in the program, you know them. There are over fifty names."

"Program? I've never heard of any like this before," Heero asked and laid down his downy defenses.

"How do I explain it?" She thought for a moment. There were certain things, even if she was giving up the ghost on her cover, she wasn't allowed to say. "It's for people who've come from your type of situation, more specifically, for child soldiers. You guys have been to hell and back a million times, and now you've come an age where you start to notice the effects of the stress. There's no war, it's peaceful and quiet, this is the time a soldier can feel the most unrest and lose his footing. Haven't any of you noticed...you haven't been doing the best lately?"

"I'll say," Heero said.

"I won't," Duo _didn't_. "One night we slipped up, it's no reason to think we can't handle it on our own."

"I'm not talking about the banquette, or even the night I was over. This has been an ongoing thing for months. Your teachers and other members of staff, the people you deal with in the run of a day, they were the ones who wanted this for you. I'm just a guide. Please, ease up," she snapped back, "This is my job, and I won't lie to you to do it."

He brushed her off, "Whatever. I'm going for a walk."

"I thought we were cleaning?" Heero said.

"Me too!" Duo snapped at him as he popped some shoes on, not his boots, and left out the front door. It shut loudly.

Missy looked down, "I technically _was_ cleaning up his file...he'll be back, won't he?"

"Dunno," Heero shrugged. "Meanwhile...I have a few more questions, if you don't mind."

She turned back to him, "Not if you don't."

"Not at all. It's about the-"

"-hold on. I thought you guys didn't trust me. Why the sudden change of heart?" When he woke up, it looked like he was ready to launch everything he had her way. Apparently someone had woken him up prematurely before, it didn't end well. Now Heero was all docile, and Duo was hostile.

Heero paused, "That? Originally I thought you were with the people who made the comics. Then after that got cleared up, I thought you may have had something to do with the distribution process. But then you show up here, come clean about who you are, what you're doing and why you're doing it...and now that I know you're with the school," he pointed to the official papers she had to have gotten from the principal, "I can trust you. Plus, I've been meaning to get this done on my own for a while now." His records did need some fine tuning. "This saves me the trouble."

"...you were my favorite for a reason."

"Excuse me?"

"I've been around for quite a bit," she cleared her throat, "_Earth, the planet in the solar system that miraculously gave birth to life. In the year After Colony 195, with the development of the colonies_-"

"My speech. When did you come across that?"

"_The day_ you presented it. I've had a case study open on you ever since. I suppose you could say I'm one of the people who was worried for you, Heero." She laughed lightly, "I remember when the teacher told you to stop, me, at the back of the class-" she said and raised both her arms above her head, slightly outraged, same as she did it that day.

Heero recalled the moment. There _was_ a person who did that at the back of the room, he caught them out of the corner of his eye for a second. "That was you?" he said.

"Yes. When I heard that it was your class was doing presentations all day, I had to sit in and audit the lesson. I was upset that she wouldn't let you finish so I got a copy of your speech to read later on. It was amazing Heero, you've got quite the knack with words."

"Thank you...but, you look so different now. Was that a disguise?"

"I'm become diabetic since then, I've lost a ton of weight in the last year."

"That was insensitve...that's why you didn't drink..." He stopped himself, "Don't listen to any of this. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, I've got no problem talking about these things. I'm diabetic _and_ a recovering alcoholic...possibly the reason _why_ I'm diabetic now. But, that's why I don't drink...or, try not to at least."

He was glad to be in the clear. Heero rubbed the back of his neck, worried he was pushing buttons he shouldn't have. He felt his shoulders had finally settled from the 'Duoctopus' attack too. She was being up front with him, but he had no clue how to properly respond to such comments. "Isn't it hazardous to work at bars with such a condition?" With 'concern', that's how. It worked every time(for Duo).

"You'd think that, but for me, it's aversion therapy. The more drunk people I see, the less I want to drink."

"I get it, it reminds you why you stopped."

"Does it ever. I do have my days of weakness occasionally. I had one of those a couple months back. I can't be strong all the time, I'm okay with that. I wanted to offer some of the things I've learned to you guys, hopefully you won't slide as far as I did. It's a hard transition."

"Transition?"

"Into becoming a well adjusted adult."

"Hmm...shouldn't the path to becoming a healthy adult avoid alcohol and other drugs like that? Why offer them outright?" He thought that maybe this was the reason Duo was so upset. "If you didn't offer it, we might not have drank at all. Maybe Duo thought you were trying to set us up to see if we'd fail."

Her expression dropped, "I can totally see where you're coming from...shoot...it does look like that, huh?" She was careless. "I assure you, that's not it at all. Not even close. I'm not here to tell you right from wrong, I'm only here to help facilitate decision-making."

"And offering a drink is helping~?"

"Heh, it really isn't. But _refusing_ you a drink is equally as damaging."

"I don't see how."

"Because if you decide to drink, I don't want you to feel that there's anything wrong with _wanting to,_ or that you _should be _deciding against it, or, above all else, that it's something you have to _hide_. It's not. All of you drank before you met me, I had nothing to do with your choice to consume alcohol. This tells me you've developed your own opinions on the substance, and no matter what I say, that isn't necessarily going to change it for better or worse. Also, you guys are stressed. I'm not saying that alcohol is a good stress reliever, but I don't want you to think less of yourselves if you feel like you want to enjoy it once in a while to ease tension...that was a mouthful."

Heero gave her words some thought, "...that was smart."

"Honestly, it's not the first time I've given that speech. It is all mine though."

"Still..."

"Non-judgmental reasoning is all I have to offer. You guys are too quick for me, no catch 22 scapegoat for me this time," she said and brushed her hands clean of her earlier faliure.

"You mean, when we were at Quatre's, you suggested we not drink on a school night, instead of not drinking at all." Admittedly, that notion did sit better with him. "In the long run...I can't help but feel this is more of a hinderance than a help. It's still a drug. That's a huge risk."

"That's why I'm here. To teach you guys about those sorts of risks. It's the most effective coping strategy: Education. You're going to come to your own ends eventually, might as well make it as smooth as possible to get there.

"But this is the kind of stuff they can't teach in schools, at least not the way you're teaching it."

"That's reason number two we're being all hush-hush about it."

"And what program is this again?"

She laughed, "It doesn't have a name. Due to judicial constraints, all of this operation is taking place off record."

"What constraints?"

"The fact that most of you are all minors for another year is a huge one. They need to avoid the paperwork required to consort with minors in this field of study, it's all been kept 'under the table'."

"Why not run the paperwork?"

"Time. Not a lot of it." She thought about the one who caused the initial rush on the project; he still needed to be addressed.

"I see." Heero was pleased. At first the idea of someone snooping around didn't sit well, but now he was as eager as Duo was, in the beginning, to keep her around. "Missy, I have a favor to ask."

"Ask away," she said.

"Please, stay close for a while."

This line made her throat tighten. It was a simple line, it was probably the way it was asked. "So formal...can I ask why?"

"No. Just do it." He gave her a single nod upward.

"...pushy much?"

"I know. Will you though?" He kept intense eye contact.

With a smile, she said, "Of course. But if I can't ask why, I want to talk about other things. Could I do that?" She began writing things again.

"Yes, you may."

"What did you take last night?" She showed him what she wrote.

He shrugged. "I don't remember the name, but Quatre's running the bottle over after class today. I'll show you then."

She sat back. "Good."

"The bottle was tampered with and more alcohol was added in. We figured that was the reason I had such a negative reaction."

She drew a slow breath, "Not exactly."

"Oh?"

"Yeah...your reaction is comparable to a condition I learned about shortly before coming to Japan." Missy widened her stance and reached down into her bag for something. "First off, backtrack, banquette, how many drinks?"

"Only one, spiked."

"With this," she said and handed him the syringe Duo used. "When I picked it up, the line where the liquid stopped was roughly at two cc's. So...if that, plus one more, was enough to put you out of commission, chances are, you can't drink much at all. What are some of the other symptoms you experienced. Start at the banquette."

"I forget a lot."

"That's okay, tell me what you know."

"I mean, that's what I know: I forget a lot. About an hour after Relena and I left to play pool, the night went black. I barely have any recollection of what went on, and I only came to around one in the morning."

"Oh wow, okay," she said and scribbled some things down. It caught his attention. She backed up, "Don't read over my shoulder," she said playfully and let him see it.

"Making sure you get it down right."

"I'll let you look it over when I'm done if you're that paranoid...unrelated note, you're Japanese, right?"

"Yes."

Scribble, scribble. "Okay...now, the stuff you had last night, how much of it did you drink?"

"Tablespoon and a half."

"What did you use to measure it?"

"..."

"What did-"

"-my mouth."

Missy lowered her pen, "You measured it in your mouth?"

He turned a little red, "...yes."

She pointed the pen, "No more of that."

"I don't think you need to worry. Last night was enough to deter me from trying it again," or was it?

"Glad to hear it. Did you drink the medicine for any reason?"

"I had a headache."

She thought some. "...Tuesday now...did you guys drink after I left?"

"..." This was what she was talking about earlier. No one had to offer, it was there, it could be taken at any time. "Yes, we did."

"How much?"

"Quatre and I had one shot of vodka. Duo had two and one more of that...that dark one, started with 'ka'."

"Kahula...okay...did he try to mix it or something?" She was now writing on a separate piece of paper for Duo.

Heero took note. "I think so...I didn't let him finish the mix."

"What did you do?"

Again, no one forced him, "...I drank it on him," he said with regret.

"Why~?" Drawn out.

"So he couldn't."

"Didn't think to spill it out?"

"It was only half, and I didn't want it to go to waste."

"Why~?" Drawn out again.

"...I don't know why...no, I do know..." He hesitated, "...I knew something was wrong from the start. That's why."

"Go on. When was the start?"

"When I was playing pool with Relena. I was wrecked within minutes and I hadn't had a drink for a while. I was staggering, slanted speech, I couldn't make a shot for the life of me and I was boiling hot. No one else was complaining about those kind of things after one, and no one else looked as red in the face as I did, even after a few...so...I wanted to see if it was just that night...and not just me." He chalked his blackout at Quatre's up to mixing alcohols, but now he was understanding things I bit better. It wasn't his fault, he had genetics to blame. "Turns out, it's all me."

They went silent for a few seconds while she wrote things down. She heard it that time. When Missy was done, she looked up with a nod. "Anything else?"

He nodded his head slowly. "After I woke up the first time, Relena shared her flask and we had a drink-" he slipped, "-uh, keep that quiet, okay?" A meek nod. He kept going. "I watched her take a mouthful of brandy straight and two large splashes of it in her drink. She was fine, finished it all the way to the bottom. I was dizzy from the tiny bit I put in my can...and I only drank about half of what I poured." He recalled pouring the other half of the drink out when he friends left the following morning. He then pointed to the opposite end of the house, "That way."

Missy spoke quietly still, "Why is he on the roof?"

"Eavesdropping probably."

She nodded to herself. "Let him. Heero, have you heard of a condition called AFS?"

"No, I have not."

"Alcohol Flush Syndrome."

He huffed, "Flush? That explains the redness."

"It does, and it explains everything else too. It's also called 'Asian Glow', a little less politically correct, but aptly given. One third of the asian population has the mutation in their genes. It's a far cry from telepathy or eye lazers, but-"

"-what is it?"

"You don't digest alcohol well. That's it. There aren't any other complications. You body, genetically, cannot produce enough of the enzyme needed to process alcohol effectively. When alcohol sticks in your system longer, you get drunker. Even long after you stop drinking, it'll still keep lowering your vitals."

"That's such a nuisance. So I'll get smashed off of one drink, forever? Do I need to take medication or anything for this?" Missy laughed. "Why is that funny? I told you I don't know anything about this."

"Sorry," she composed herself, "That's not what's funny. I just remember asking the same question."

"And, was the answer funny?"

"Yes. But they didn't give me an answer, they just told me to ask the question differently. What you basically asked was 'Is there a pill to help me drink more alcohol?'"

He couldn't help but laugh, that was rather ridiculous. "An alcoholic's salvation," Heero caught himself, he'd forgotten. "I'm sorry!" he covered his face.

Missy laughed, "Don't worry, I thought the exact same thing. I researched ways to make synthetic stuff for myself, it didn't pan out."

"Oh...you're a good sport," Heero said rubbed his eyes, finally revealing his not-red face again. "I guess...there's no way around this?"

"Does it bother you?"

"It shouldn't, should it? I don't have to drink-"

"-But you want to, don't you?"

He shook his head, "It's not like-"

She held up a hand, "-You don't need to explain anything. Drinking is a social outlet, not being able to do it with others is alienating and stressful. Trust me, I know."

Heero looked disappointed, "It does kind of put a damper on the weekend."

"Was there something planned?" She did remember Duo mentioning that he wanted to do something during her visit. Had a plan gone though?

"It's a small get together. I don't have to drink, but..."

"But now that the option _isn't_ there, you're thinking about it more."

"It's human nature to want things you can't have, isn't it?"

"You can still drink."

"But, I thought-"

"You just can't drink as much."

"Then what's the point? You've seen them drink, I can't keep up with that."

"Actually 'drinking' beverages takes up a very small portion of the time in an evening; anyone's stomach can only hold so much. It's talking with your friends _while_ you drink that makes it fun."

"True. Kind of glad I found out like I did. Quatre said Duo kept handing him drinks, I'm sure he's going to try and do the same to me eventually."

"Let's just cross our fingers that he doesn't get a hold of any more 151."

"What's that?"

"The super strong liquor in the syringe. Like I said, this is why I'm here. How would you have known to look for a condition like AFS on your own? I only heard about it a couple years ago myself. Now it's in the file," she said as she wrapped Heero's notes and speech up and replaced them with the others. "I need a few more things from you, but they can wait until everyone is present."

"I'm grateful...so...how much can I drink before it makes me black out?"

She shrugged, "I really can't say, it varies from person to person. We can test the waters if you like."

It was the afternoon, but still first thing in the morning for him. "Bad timing." He was stating to feel better, he didn't want to ruin it.

"Oh no, not now, we're supposed to be cleaning. I meant at the party. Try having a _single_ mouthful of a weak alcohol and wait an hour, to see how it hits you. It might make you queasy if you go too fast."

Heero thought, '_...Duo invited someone at random._' Why couldn't he? "Okay, I'll try that. If you can make it tomorrow, you should come by the Winner mansion."

Giving it some thought first, "I _could_ mix the drinks...maybe do a lesson while I'm up there. Teach you guys how to mix a proper cocktail," she said jokingly.

"I wouldn't mind that. It'll be something to do since I can't drink like the rest of them. It'll keep my hands busy." Something occurred to him, "Quatre's sister is making outfits for some of the servers, if you're coming, you should let her make one for you too." He only suggested this because he heard Shauna complain about how she only got to make 'three' outfits for the evening. If he brought Missy along for that sort of thing, it would be a good way to show _both_ girls there were no hard feelings. '_Geez_, _I am turning into Duo_,' he laughed to himself.

"I don't think I know any of Quatre's sisters. What's her name?" She wondered if any of them were as interesting as he was.

"Shauna. She's a seamstress for the majority of the day, I assume it'll be non-issue."

She knew that name, but was it the same person? They fit the description. "Sure, do you have a way for me to contact her?" Heero hooked the two up. Missy was now going along, but she didn't look too happy. "You don't think..." she started to say but paused to play with a strand of her hair that had been stained with red. It was a faded pink by now.

Heero knew what she was getting at, "Duo won't stay mad for long."

She raised her eyebrows, "He seemed pretty dedicated when he left."

"That was probably my fault."

"Did you two fight before I got here?"

"You could say that. I was getting after him for not eating and he got all up in arms about it. I had to let him tell me all the reason's why I'm a 'girl' before he calmed down."

"That's...off."

He laughed, "No, something stupid he came up with. You're not getting any context for it." It was stupid, but still pretty funny.

She assumed it was an inside joke. "Alright. What did you say to him?"

And thus, Heero proceeded to reveal how well he 'didn't' handle the situation.

"Ple...please tell me you see where you went wrong?"

"No~...where at?"

Missy took a deep breath, "Asking a bunch of insistent questions, showing aggression and disapproval, trivializing a solution, denying efforts of the accused by essentially saying 'not good enough!', telling him about other people's opinions on his weight, comparing him to the prettiest member of your group-" This got his attention.

"-What?!"

"Yeah," she said with a rapid nod, "Duo might feel that way. Do you see how he keeps himself?"

"Quatre or Duo?"

"Both of them. They seem to actively bank a lot on physical appearance. What you said to him, probably not the best thing you could have thought of." And that, folks, was the most politically correct way to call someone a 'pretty boy'.

"Oops."

"Then you let him tangent off a few times, also, not good. You reinforced the idea that if there's something he doesn't want to talk about, he can just leave or avoid it by talking nonsense."

"Well, it made sense. But, what do I do? I thought I said the right stuff."

"It wasn't what you said, it's how you said it. It was perfect in the sense you let him know you care, but it was a band-aid over a bullet hole. To get him out of this rut, you're going to have to change your technique. Don't let him run the conversation. If he doesn't want to talk about it, you don't talk at all."

"...isn't that a bit harsh?" He watched her shake her head. "Damn, this is hard...I was thinking about ways to get him to eat, but he'd see right through that...and it's sneaky...this sucks..." Why was he so lost? "This shouldn't be such a hard thing to accomplish: Feed friend."

Scribble on paper, "I know. And it's wise to assume that would upset him. Considering how mad he was when he thought **I** was trying to undermine him, imagine how he'd feel if it were his closest friend." Duo was far from stupid. He may have acted goofy most of the time, but he was every inch a genius.

"What was that you wrote?" He thought they were done that game.

"It's for Duo, not you."

"...let me see."

"...I can't."

"I'm going to look anyway."

"I'll hide it."

"_I'll find it_." He would too.

"..." She reluctantly passed him the paper. "Pushy." A call back to the earlier subversity they had going on.

He read those words and his heart sank. Heero thought to himself, fearing it may sound sexist if said out loud, '_What's this, Duo? Is that counted as a feminine trait?_' He didn't think it was a female specific condition(obviously), but it wasn't everyday you found a male with the disorder. He looked up, "...really?"

"Yup."

Stare at paper. Back to Missy again. To the ceiling. Back to Missy. "..._really_?" The last time someone did this to him, it was far less devastating. "I know he's thin, but to go and say it's that, I don't know..."

"Only about ten percent of the people with this disorder are male. It's not common to have for a guy to have, so many people let it go undiagnosed," she said with more certainty. "I looked at his medical forms from two years ago and compared them to the ones he signed for school. His weight hadn't changed much, in fact, it went up as it should for someone his age. And then, from the beginning of the year to the physical two weeks ago, he had lost over twenty-five pounds."

Slack jawed, "Twenty-five pounds...he's not going to like that." Heero tossed the paper on the table between the two of them, the words 'anorexia nervosa' scrawled somewhere on it. "I don't understand how it could be an eating disorder, he loves food...is there a chance it's anything else?"

Missy shook her head, "That's a common misconception about anorexic's: Not all of them are trying to get skinny. Some of them 'literally' forget to eat. And unless he's got some kind of life threatening illness, it is what it is."

"..." Heero gave it one more shot, "What are the symptoms you're seeing in him? I know he's thin...but..."

"Excuses for not eating. Flip flops to binge eating. Rationalizing food consumption. Excessive alcohol consumption. Dressing in layers. Quick to anger. Manic temperament. Forgetful-"

Something came to mind, "-hold that thought," he said and finally got out of bed. Missy watched him leave to the kitchen and then come back in the living room seconds later. In his right hand, two unfinished mugs, nearly full, respectively coffee and tea. In the left hand, two cold, dry pieces of toast. "...such as it is," Heero seceded, "Now how can we help him out?"

* * *

A guy with an eating disorder. I've only seen 'American Dad' do it, and it blew my mind! "The American Dad After School Special", watch it if you haven't already! I don't do nearly as effective a job with shock as they did. Woo!

I don't know if Duo having that disorder was 'seen coming', but it was planned since the start. In fact, it was _the_ first idea that helped spawn the rest of the story after the banquette.

When I was writing Relena carrying them down the stairs, I wondered what these guys would weigh. I wanted to accent in the story who was the hardest to carry. So, to the internets I went! When I looked at the weights these guys had, I nearly fainted! I think Trowa was the heaviest, and he barely broke the 100 lb mark!

And that's when I said, '...there's an idea...but how to go about it...and which one...they'd expect Quatre...*ponders*.'

While I was going about the story, I kept on making Duo's habits progressively more destructive and slowly put him on 'rocky ground'.

Don't you guys distinctly remember me telling you that I was going to send Duo into a soul crushing depression eventually? Well, guess what happens after a big ol' manic wave? *CRASH!*

Hehehe...we're almost there! Duo's cresting the top of the parabolic arch that is his 'capacity' and he is about to come sailing back down!

Poor Duo...who will save you? ;_;  
What would you guys do if I told you 'I don't know'? Huh? Would you be mad?

Wa'chuu you t'ink? :D


	26. Chapter 26: Letting Someone In

This is a slow build chapter...but the next one will be following shortly, comedy will pick up again, no worries. I kind of want to do a bit more character building for Naibun. She was the first OC, but she's gotten the least attention development wise.

You _know_ she's shy, paranoid, can cook, loves swimming, alters her own clothing...but what else...and why?

Truth time: I stumbled on a pun for Naibun's name. It was NOT planned from the start! I even went back and made Naibun act a little more nervous when Quatre tried to figure out her nick name. She giggles and says "yeah, that's how it is, heh heh".(basically)

* * *

**Chapter 26: Letting Someone In**

* * *

"Why were you on the roof?" Heero asked in an attempt to get to the bottom of things.

"Better view."

"Of what?"

"Everything."

"Duo?"

"What?"

"Better view of what?"

"_Everything_, I said."

"Why?" Try as he might, there was no winning.

"...not important." Duo's mood was still a disaster. Any conversation with him ended up sounding that way. The braided one refused to be in the same room as their resident 'therapist'. He began taking things into the office, all the while saying he was going to be clearing it out. "I need stuff to clean with," he said as he took objects like towels, wooden planks and a drill kit into the room with him.

"How do you clean with a drill?" Heero asked but got a silent treatment. "...okay then."

Missy didn't attempt to speak with him more than a couple times. The responses she got were bitter and seemed to gain an increasing level of _bite_. Eventually they gave up and left him alone to clean the room he was claiming. Heero and Missy tackled various things in the worst section of the house, the basement. The downstairs had many doorless rooms and took up the whole underside of the house. It was going to be more than a days worth of work between the three of them before it got done.

It was nearing home time for the school, that meant Trowa would be showing up soon to help. He always had the right thing to say, maybe he could get through to Duo. '_He won't be staying though..._' Heero looked over to Missy. She was on top of the counter wiping down the cabinets for things to be placed atop them. "I thought you said not to let him control the conversation. What do we do when he does things like this?"

Missy crouched down, a hand held the fridge's corner for balance. She looked into the hallway at his closed door. "For now, you let him burn this off. If he's going to be productive, don't get in his way."

"Calling it productive may be a bit of a stretch. I'm worried about what he's got planned. I can't see him building anything useful with the things he's taken in..." By now the list had grown to things like markers, a hair dryer, several rolls of duct tape and a large blue tarp. Heero recalled the delight in Duo's face when he pulled the blue sheet from the closet. "He wasn't expecting to find that tarp...so I know he didn't have this planned right from the get go. This situation has _makeshift_ written all over it."

"Does he build things in this manner on a regular basis?"

"Not from my experience. Electronics, yes, but this is by far the strangest I've seen him act."

Missy thought about it too. "...he's trying to throw off the prognosis, isn't he?"

Heero nodded, "That sounds feasible."

"_Feasible_?" she sounded comically offended.

He snickered, "I mean: Probable," he corrected himself. "Who's sour?"

"Ha, nice," she snickered. That was a jab back for the 'drink' comment she made before. It was nice to see Heero didn't let anything slide.

His friend finally came out and retrieved the broom and some plastic bags, and then he was right back in again. Heero gave him another few minutes before leaning down the hallway and said, "Duo...are you ready to talk yet?"

Duo paused to catch his breath. '_Why_?' he thought. He had been going at it nonstop and hadn't eaten much. The loss of the toast was annoying, it was their last two slices of bread. He resorted to chugging a large quantity of vegetable cocktail and chowing on a couple granola bars to curb the hunger pangs before getting to work. "Are you kidding? I don't want to break stride." He thought Heero was stopping him to eat again, he had to brush him off. He wasn't hungry yet. "I'm kind of busy." He came out of the room pushing three large boxes, stacked, sorted and ready to be stored. He went back in and came out with two garbage bags in either hand, two more times. "What have _you two_ been doing?" He assumed they were trading notes, and not cleaning.

"We got the rest of the recyclables bagged and taken out back. Now Missy's getting parts of the kitchen in order and Trowa should be here soon. Are you going to help load the truck?"

"As long as I can keep quiet the whole time." When Duo was done with his small project, he joined Heero outside to wait for the others. Missy stayed in. "..."

"..." Heero felt helpless. There was no way to handle this situation. "Am I ever going to get an answer out of you?"

Were his antics beginning to bother Heero that much? He heard annoyance in his friend's voice. "Yes...just wait until she leaves...okay?"

"Fine...she just wants to complete your medical history, I don't see why this is such a big deal."

"If that was all she wanted, why not say so? I'll tell you more later." He looked off down the road in the assumed direction Trowa would be arriving from. The wrong truck went by.

"This better not have anything to do with that 'masculine-feminine' thing we talked about earlier. Accepting help for something isn't-"

"-no way, never. If I need help, I'll take it...but..." He thought, "Now that you mention it...it does kind of apply to that, but only by coincidence," he said and pointed a finger in the opposite palm.

Heero huffed, "You're banking far too much importance on it."

"I'm not, really! That was something funny I came up with, this is totally different." They just happened to overlap, Duo needed to ensure him. "I wasn't being serious...you'll see what I mean...I don't like how sneaky she was..."

"Coming from you, that's rich."

"I know, right?" He laughed awkwardly and slowly went back to waiting in silence. "..."

"..." Another thought, "You aren't clamming up because I won't talk about stuff with you?"

Duo laughed. "That's not it either. It's nice to see you're feeling like yourself today." Heero's paranoia was refreshing. Maybe they hadn't swapped places after all. Duo's phone beeped. "...it's Quatre..." he said and began texting. "Yes. The...more...the...merrier. Thank...you...for..." he said his text aloud too.

Meanwhile, at the school, Quatre was making his way to the truck with Trowa. He wanted to know if they could use anymore help with the cleaning effort, and had sent out a request to Duo. He got the response. "Hmm, that's odd." He flashed Trowa the message. At the end it said 'Thank you for actually asking.'

"Agreed. You don't think he got in an argument?" Trowa said quietly. Worried for his hidden identity, he spoke with a raspy voice all day. He was blaming his volume on some harsh tasting cigar that burnt his throat; it made more sense than having a cold for a single day. It seemed to be received well. "Heero mentioned questioning Missy the next time-" he coughed. His guise wasn't just for Missy, it had to be for everyone if it were to go over successfully. If the woman knew how to read faces, there was no need to risk _someone else_ slipping up his cover. He hadn't even told anyone about the encounter yet, and stumbling upon that fact in a room full of people wasn't choice in his opinion.

"Don't hurt yourself, rest your voice. We'll have some tea when we get there." He gave some leaves to Duo the other day when he saw him holding his stomach. He figured the ginger tea might help. "He _should_ have some left."

"Where would I be?" he sounded grateful.

He smiled as he checked his phone. "We need to wait a minute for the girls," he said.

A confused expression said it all, "...?"

"Huh? Oh, I asked if we could take Bunni and her friend Kinsei along to help."

"Bunny?"

That was the second time he slipped and called her that, "It's Naibun's nick name. She flipped the characters around as a pun; at least, I think that's how she said she got it."

Was Quatre interested in this girl? He knew she worked for the family, but was she more to him than that? He had been out working all week and his usual helping of gossip had gone unsatisfied. "What about the 'a'?" he whispered, sparing himself a scolding for speaking again.

Quatre thought about it. "...You're right." It was an imperfect pun if it didn't utilize the 'a' at the beginning of her name. "I wonder if she has a reason for it," he pondered. Girls liked cute things, bunnies were cute, she probably felt it was close enough so she could get away with using 'Bunni'.

He recalled Heero's warning before any of them settled on moving to Japan: Learn to accept puns, they're everywhere. He wasn't kidding. It seemed puns even played a gigantic role in Japan's infrastructure. He had no idea why. Names of food, places, people and pretty much anything you could think of was turned into a pun if it could be. Quatre enjoyed it, his sister, not so much. She still wasn't very fluent in Japanese, so a lot of the puns evaded her. Any time he tried to make one with her, it went unnoticed.

The girls showed up. "I'm sitting 'bitch'," Kinsei announced as she hopped in the small narrow seat behind the main seat. "Or can I ride in the bed? I found a tarp to cover me." She held up a blue tarp from behind the seat as she looked to the back of the large Ford truck.

"I think the back seat is safer," Quatre suggested.

She was quick to abandon the idea, "Yeah, you're right...," she said and hunted down the small seat belt at her side. "Next time, I guess."

The other three sat up front, Naibun was in the middle. "Will Iria mind it if I miss a shift?"

Quatre shook his head, "Not at all, you did a lot of work yesterday, I'll tell her it counted for two."

A quiet echoing voice said, "Conflict of interest." Kinsei playfully taunted from behind the seat. This made Trowa snicker.

"Is it?" Quatre found it amusing, he swore he wouldn't do that sort of thing among his employees. He just never realized how easy it was to do, for it constituted things he hadn't considered a 'conflict of interest'. "It would be unfair to the other employees...I guess it is."

"If that's the case, then I'm still on the job. I'll just be cleaning a different house today," Naibun said.

"Problem solved," Trowa said before he fired up the engine.

When they got there, "This isn't too bad," Quatre said as he inspected the entrance. The main level of the house seemed cluttered, not filthy.

"The three of us have been at it all morning," Missy said as she carried something around the corner.

"Hey, it's you again," Quatre greeted her in a friendly way. It looked like Duo was the only one who was still in the red.

With introductions out out the way, a game plan was laid down. When everyone got a grasp on the grounds they were going to groom, the group got to work. Trowa, who didn't even step inside, took up the recyclables and left right away. He ended up declining a cup of tea after all, suggesting the time frame he had to work with was too small by tapping his watch and hooking his thumb in a distant direction.

Naibun did dishes, Heero, Missy and Kinsei continued work on the basement, and Quatre spoke with Duo as he cleaned his room. Being the 'peaceful' one, he was given the task of talking Duo down. "The message you sent me...it sounded like you were upset at something," Quatre said. Not waning to kick up dust, he asked as 'non-assumingly' as possible.

"I kind of want to get some work done before we open that can of worms." He was drilling a board to the wall as this was being said. It looked like he was installing some shelving.

"That seems fair."

"...mind if I clean alone?"

"You sure?"

Nod.

"It's up to you. Bunni's in the Kitchen, the rest of us will be downstairs." He had done all he could. Now to play the waiting game. Briefly passing Naibun, he gave her a shrug, "I don't know if he's going to be much for conversation."

"Don't worry. I'm sure you guys will work it all out later."

He looked at **all** the dirty dishes(and took notice to each cupboard being totally empty). "Are you sure you want to do all these alone?"

"It's work, remember? I'll be down when I can't stack any more." She decided that doing the dishes in shifts would be best. The counter would be filled with clean dishes and left to dry while she helped out elsewhere.

Quatre nodded and went downstairs.

This was when Duo decided to strike. After a few minutes went by, "What's up?" he said as he sat down in the kitchen with her.

"Oh," she sounded surprised, "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon." She had just started to soak anything with caked on 'whatever'.

He nodded. "Yeah, I got that out of my system a while ago, I'm just milking it now," he said, "I don't want to go back in the basement is all."

"But everyone's working so hard, don't you want to join them?"

"I do-it's complicated-but you...I wanna' talk to you." He smiled and propped his chin up. Quatre was getting more comfortable with calling her 'Bunni', so it was time to put his skills to the test. How interested was this 'maid' of his?

Duo wasn't just cleaning the whole morning, he was studying too. After the initial upset with Missy, Duo dropped the idea of 'flirting' with her and turned it into 'figuring her out'. He even took the book off the top of the fridge to brush up some while he was out briefly, and again when was packing boxes. Confident he could read the right facial expressions, he tested out his knowledge on Naibun. Innocent enough.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked, even though she assumed it was going to be about Quatre.

"It's about your friend, Kinsei."

Or she could be wrong. "Oh? What would you like to know?"

"Her status. Single? Looking? Bored?"

"...the last one sounds the closest."

"I see...do you think going to the circus would 'perk' her up?"

Naibun froze to think.

Duo noticed this. "That isn't a problem, is it?"

"Oh, no...I think," she said as she searched for words.

She was hesitating. Duo noticed this too. "..."

Naibun recalled the 'friendly' outing Trowa and Shauna were having, "I think she'd like to go." Could she steer him into making it a 'friendly outing'?

Duo nodded. "Maybe as friends? My date crapped out on me and I don't want to go alone."

She smiled, "That sounds fine. I'm sure she'd love to tag along." It looked like she wouldn't have to hint drop at all.

"Awesome. When you're done, will you let her know I want to ask? I'm kind of nervous to ask in front of everyone." A white lie didn't count as a real lie to Duo.

"I can do that," she said with a smile.

Now that the ice was broken, "Thanks Bunny," he said with an equally as sweet smile. He noted the shock in her face. "Hmm, something up?"

"Nothing." She went back to cleaning, blushing.

She jumped when she heard her nick-name. Duo smirked. "Tell me, Bunny..." he said it again, "That's a cute name."

"My friend thought so too."

"A friend? You mean Kinsei?"

"No...it's silly, never mind," she tried to backpedal.

"Come on," he said with a devilish smirk, "It's a pet name, isn't it?"

She turned every shade of red. "It's not! Honest!"

It wasn't something sappy, that was obvious. '_Why's she intentionally covering it up then? __She's embarrassed..._' He couldn't figure it out her reason from expression alone. "It's just a nick name. I call myself 'Shinigami', if that helps any."

She laid the dish rag down. She had been warned before they even set foot in the house: Duo was nosy. Naibun knew this guy was on a mission to infiltrate his friend's personal lives and she was given adequate permission to tell him where to go if he started with her. Though, this was one thing she didn't mind sharing. She didn't share it most of the time, but since Duo went around calling himself 'The God of Death', it might have been right up his alley. "'Bunni' is only half my nick name."

"Is it?"

"I got it a couple years ago when I was visiting Harajuku with Kinsei...hang on...let's see if you get it." She went over to her school bag and lifted it. "Let me change out of my uniform."

Duo was interested. "I do enjoy a good guessing game." And corsets. Was she going to put one on? '_Where is this going_?' he paused to fantasize.

Naibun hopped off to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later dressed head to toe in snug fitting white goth attire. All was snug but the poof of her lacey skirt. Of course, a corset adorn her waist and bust. "My full name is Naibun Nisan...let that sink in..."

It took a second, but Duo's face lit right up, "Usagi no Shinda!" he exclaimed and hugged her. Her name, when spaced properly, was 'Nai Bunni-san', which translated to 'Rabbit of Death', or 'Dead Rabbit'. "That's the best nick name ever!"

"Mother said it was a little morbid; but that sort of thing is commonplace in Harajuku."

"Your mother obviously doesn't know what cool is!" Duo shook his head. "...where's this Harajuku? I thought it was a person at first. Is it a city, or a business or what?"

"_You've _never heard of Harajuku? I'll have to get Kinsei to bring some pictures to the party tomorrow." Naibun was excited now. "Don't research Harajuku tonight, I want to leave it as a surprise." If this sort of thing was accepted among their circle of friends, it was going to make hanging out with them after school a lot easier. Now she no longer had to buy new clothes. '_Guess I didn't need this job after all_.' She thought happily.

* * *

It was subtle...but did you catch all that? ^-^

I base the bulk of Naibun on a friend of mine. Yeah, I know I said these OC's were facets of me, but not totally. Even I can't be everywhere at once! lol

One of my bestest friends since highschool (I've known her ten years now! I'M OLD! DX) has helped flesh Naibun out completely. Paranoid for no reason, sweet as apple pie, drop dead gorgeous and she didn't need to be a stick to do it: IKO-CHAN!

It was her nick name back in the day. What? I'm not name dropping one of my best friends on FF dot net. =P


	27. Chapter 27: Our Heero is Only Human: Pt3

Did I say two parts?

Most good things come in two's...but what about three's?

By the way, Abys: Was he flirting? No, no, no...it's more than that. ^^ *evil*

I say I love writing for Duo the best, but then you get me to write a Heero chapter and do the words ever flow! By the time I had 10 hits on the last chapter, I was already 3000 words into this one(and I only started when I posted too, I took a screen cap)! XD

There may be more of these, but I'm going to spread them out more. It will be named as such when we get a deeper glimpse into Heero's background dialogue. Yeah, that seems fair.

...I need a spoof series of chapters...I'm getting too serious again...hmm...the next chapter will be up in a few days, but after that, you may have another longer wait. The 'Duo Edition' thing got me thinkin'. *ponders*

Feedback helps the process(hinthint). It gets me thinking about what _you're _thinking about.  
I like to relate to people. Don't you?

* = Zing

* * *

**Chapter 27: Our Heero is Only Human: Part 3**

* * *

The main room downstairs was finished. "It looks inhabitable." And not just by all the wildlife he imagined there yesterday; by _people _standards too.*

"I'll say." Kinsei stood back next to Heero, admiring the cleared terrain. "Definitely lick the floors with the mop a few times."

Heero nodded and gave her a solemn, "_Mm-hmm_." Was she a rich girl? Her speech was questionable. She went to school with them, so she was at least well-to-do. Kinsei reminded him a lot of Duo; but anyone who spoke like a hick usually got that classification.* '_Hmm...I'm back_,' he thought. His mood seemed to return to normal, then again, so did his stress level.

If this girl reminded him of Duo, that technically meant there were two of him now. One exception: This was a female version he couldn't scold with the same level of aggression because _she_ was a friend of the girl who was interested in one of his_ other friends_(long winded). '_...High school is annoying._' It was an awkward contemptible shrew, like a game of shoots and ladders riddled with barbs and razors, run on sentences, sappy poetry and all played with twenty sided dice and the cards to another unrelated board game series(monopoly, maybe).

'_Job placement...job placement...job placement..._' It was a refreshing drone once he got used to it; Heero had been chanting it for as long as he was cleaning. '_Wait a second...damn..._' his thought process called attention to his 'Duo-esque' demeanor, sweet & manipulative. What was up? Heero was still skewed and acting more like _him_ again.

Heero was nice to Missy. He cracked jokes with Missy. He cooperated with Missy. He was willing to suck on the juiciest meat of Missy's ass, if it meant he was going to get the job placement position any sooner!* He'd been aiming for it _since the banquette_! If this is what he had to go through to get her to tell the principal he was '_sane_' and '_healthy_' enough to go, so be it! Everyone else had to be involved though? They were slowing the progress he could have already made.

Quatre rubbed his eyes, for they had begun to water. The dust from the last load they dumped in the bin hung in the air. He had helped out as long as he could. Retreating upstairs to see if Wufei had any antihistamines was the only option. He saw Duo in the kitchen with some girl in white. '_Naibun_?!' This was the first time he got to see her in her street clothes, he never would have guessed she was a goth girl. Her outfit was so cute! Quatre had to think quickly. '_Don't stare...wait...what if that's the point...middle ground...where's that at?_'

When he thought 'middle' he looked at her waist, and that was one of the best parts to admire with the corset curve. School uniforms made it easy to know where to look, the face; this outfit begged to differ, peppering its points of interest all over the place. From the frilly headband to the ruffled, low-cut ankle socks, _everything_ was worth a second look.

"Still with us?" Duo waved a hand near his friend's face. He had come up on him too quickly and caused a slight jump back. "I know," he said with only enough glee to be heard by Quatre; he was ecstatic about her outfit too. "Hmm? Have you been moved to tears, friend?"*

Quatre laughed, "It's dusty downstairs."

"I knew I heard someone sneezing."

He nodded. "That was me. You two have made progress," he said and saw nearly all the dishes had been finished and even put away.

"You bet. And I might be taking Kinsei to the circus...just lettin' you know. Friends and all..."

He chuckled, "I thought you were asking Missy?"

"I was, but-" he then briefly explained why that was no longer the case. He didn't bad mouth her, he was relatively neutral about the whole thing. He was even willing to give her a second chance, but none of that mattered, it was still a bad idea telling Quatre.

Blankly, "...what...?" Quatre said, his head cocked slightly to the side now.

"Yeah," he said with a chuckle, "She even said yours looked like 'Swiss Cheese'. Don't let it bug you too much, all of ours are choppy. Schools do stupid stuff like this all the time; I wish they knew they can just come out and _ask_ us things. But they're sneaky in th-th-uh, Quatre?" He was gone. Gone in the living room. Going though Missy's bag full force. Things were flying out of it in many directions. "Quatre?!"

"Is that such a-oh, geez." Naibun was now involved.

"She's got no right going though my file..." he muttered as he sifted though all her things, the rest of the world muted to him.

"This isn't like you," he said and looked at Naibun who was sweating bullets now too.

"It's not like me to protect my personal information? No, I don't think that's right. It sounds exactly like me," he said and gingerly pulled his file out from betwixt her other things. He sounded as cool as a cucumber, he looked as lax as a cat, but for some reason his voice had a level of misanthropic malevolence to it that chilled the other two to the core. He pawed through the pages. "...wait a second...that's not right...no..." he said as he continued through the first few sections of the file with haste. "I didn't...then...wha-...I..."

"I don't think you're allowed to touch those. Medical records can only be changed by your doctor; it's a pretty big fine if you tamper with them." She was really worried, this was a serious offense by her standards.

Quatre chuckled, "Don't worry, it's not the first time I've done this...and...this isn't mine...that's why none of it makes sense." He read the front, "SRW?" The last two initials were the same, but the first one was a bold indication that it was his sister's file. "She must have grabbed it by accident..."

When he spotted a procedure that could only be done on a female, he checked the date on the operation instead of the name on the front of the whole thing. The date lined up with an event he recalled vividly. "I should have looked at the name first." He slowly closed the file and cursed his parents desire to name he and his sister in an 'adorably similar' way. Their initial initials were rounded on top, S & Q. It proved to be his downfall in the end.

He could feel a panic attack creeping up on him. "...there's a reason these things are private...why are they here in this bag, and...on the floor?!" He was swallowing hard now and slightly out of breath.

"Let's go outside, get you some air," Duo suggested. How he wished he hadn't studied that facial expression book! The sight of seeing one of your closest friends get emotionally crushed was painful to witness first hand.

"No, no...no, I don't...I..." He couldn't make sentences. "...she needs to go," he said and threw everything back in the bag with as much care as his panic-stricken hands would muster. "She needs to leave," he said, not thinking, clutching the bag in his hands. He wanted to get rid of it, not give it back.

"Wait..." Naibun touched his arm. "Never start a fight when you're mad. Let's talk to her about it first."

"She's got a point. I was mad at her too, I left for a bit and _blew off steam, _came back, it's cool now_. _Come on. Like Heero said, she's here to help in the long run." There he went, back to defending her, he had flipped again. There was no winning. What was happening to him?

"It's not that..." Quatre had no words. With all that had happened, this was the icing on the cake. "Naibun," he said and turned to the girl in white. It was a fitting color. "Can you take this to Missy and tell her to handle it with more care. I need to leave," he said, biting back tears, which if called on, were allergies.

"Okay...please..." she said, but had nothing to finish it with. She went downstairs.

Maybe she had read a similar book on how to determine facial expressions, because Quatre's face said 'helpless' to the point there were no words for him. "...it's not much...but I have an escape." He pointed a thumb to his room.

Convincing himself that there had to be another legitimate reason for his sister to go through with something like that, he took solace and stood up. "...isn't it empty?"

"True." He nodded to the couch and said, "Grab an end." They quickly maneuvered the piece of furniture into the second bedroom and laid it beneath the window. "Okay..." Duo folded out the bed part saying, "Letting you know this now...it's not my room until the rest of my things are in here."

"Why does that matter?" Quatre had calmed down a bit.

"Because I don't want the first person I invite in here to be a guy."* He held up a hand, "No offense."

This at least got him to laugh a little, "And _I_ don't want to be the first person you invite in, so that works."*

"Good," he snickered. Quatre was catty, he liked it. He picked up the drill and laid a few screws in the frame of the door to seal it.

The two sat side by side on the pull out. "Why didn't you want her here?" Quatre asked.

"I had a run in with someone like her when I was kid. They did it the same way: Snuck in, tried to be your friend, looking to squeeze answers from you. It's insulting. You?"

Quatre nodded. "Right now...I can't get my mind off what I saw in that file."

"You were mad before that...what for?"

"...I've come a long way since I was a child. I don't think any diagnosis I received back then should apply in the current day."

"Improved? How so?"

"I've changed considerably since those files were created. They're a burden to have today, that's why I removed them."

"But if it's a health concern that can pop up in the future, it's best you do something about it now," he said. It was the reason he came back in the house earlier, he decided that telling Missy more about his medical history was beneficial to him.

"It wasn't a physical illness, it was only a _behavior_ I had. It's one I don't do anymore." Quatre pulled his knees close to his chest, chin resting down on them. "...I bet it's the whole reason she's here."

"I doubt it. She said there was more than one reason _and _person for being here. And like I said, the school sent her, so she's just doing her job. She's actually kind of cool; but don't tell her that, she doesn't need any edge at the moment."

He snickered. "I'll keep that in mind...I'm glad I didn't go down there. It wasn't the time to be making decisions...like that guy I hit-rather, both of them." He was talking about the boy at the other school and the one in the bathroom the very next day. He swung a fist in anger twice, it didn't sit well at all.

"Those were weird situations. Neither of which are still too clear...except to Heero," who he could tell was lying about something, and so was Kinsei. It was reason number two for asking Kinsei instead of Missy, he wanted to know more about this 'comic artist' she was in cahoots with. Back to Quatre, "It wasn't any of our faults, we were trying to protect ourselves is all."

"I know...but..."

Heero finished his thought from the other room, a floor away, "I think he could have handled it better. Quatre acted out of anger, and that wasn't like him. I thought it was a one time occurrence, but it keeps popping up."

Missy sat back and listened to the destruction she had wrought. "I'm so sorry guys...if I knew coming straight out to you could have avoided all this, I'd have done-"

"No, this isn't you," Heero assured her. "It was whoever leaked the comic that started this...and, who am I kidding-none of us have handled _anything_ decently as of late. That banquette should have been proof enough."

"Don't say that, it's not proof." Missy stated. "One night doesn't determine the rest. Each event speaks for itself."

Naibun and Kinsei could only watch on as Heero received these words of advice. Neither of them knew what it was for or why he needed to hear it now. They quietly accepted the fact they may never understand the gravity behind the situation and let it play out as it needed to.

"I don't know why you boys think you need to hide from anyone, these files are important. Your actions speak for themselves, the majority of us wouldn't be here if not for the strength you showed and the opportunity you offered us; nobody is in any position to pass judgment on you."

"I know that. They don't...upstairs, come on," Heero brought her up to the door Duo had drilled shut. Apparently the power tools served as a safety blanket too. Tools couldn't be that comfortable to cuddle with. Neither could Quatre. Could he?

She gave them a similar spiel and ended it with, "There's nothing I can say that can mend the wounds of the past, all we have to offer is a chance at resolving some of your immediate conflicts. We can't do that if we don't know _how _to help you. Would you prefer I say: They're just stressed. Slap a margarita in one hand, a Valium in the other and park 'em on a beach somewhere."

"I could go for that,"* Quatre's voice said.

"I don't think so," Heero chuckled.

"We're cool with you staying," Duo spoke for them both, a verbal agreement had been reached between the two in hiding. Still though the door, "But he's chilling here until Missy's out."

"Ouch," she said.

"Sorry, I'm not ready to talk yet, that file was a bit much. Tomorrow, after the party, I'll tell you what I know, okay?" Quatre sounded like he was on the level.

"Alright. I'll be there a couple hours late, I've got a few meetings to catch."

"S'all good," Quatre said.

"Okay, see you tomorrow," Missy said, backing away from the door and into the living room again. "Heero...is there any liquor in the house?" she said, only for him to hear.

"Probably. Why?" he said.

"Do you think they've had any?" She only asked because of the breakneck mood swings she was experiencing at the moment.

"I'd like to assume not." He looked at the door, "Duo, are you or Quatre drunk? Or plan to get so?"

"You can't just ask 'em," Kinsei said.

"Nope and nope," Duo proudly said.

"Don't worry," Heero confidently said and left for the kitchen.

"..." Missy paused, "...Duo...are either of you baked? Or plan to do so?" She assumed there was a reason for asking in such a way that made a difference.

"There's no stove in here," Quatre said.

The only thing that could be heard from Duo was a light slapping noise, presumably the sound of him hitting his palm gently against his forehead. A series of stifled bouts of laughter followed.

Missy smirked and rapped a few knuckles on the door. "...Hey Duo...where's your sweater?" She checked the pocket on the way down, she knew there was a joint in one side.

A pause. More laughter. "...is that what you think?" Duo said as the chuckling ground to a halt. "Quatre's bad at English slang," said quieter, "Baked: Intoxicated through drug use," he said outwardly.

"What?!" Quatre said in an outrage, "I would never!"

"I'm sorry then. I can't see much from this side of the door," Missy said with a defeated tone.

"You know what you _can _see? The basement. Namely, the boiler room," Duo said. He really didn't want to go back down there.

"Boiler?" Kinsei reiterated as she began to stand up, helping Naibun to her feet at the same time.

"Yeah." Duo was sitting right near the base of the door, so he was easy to hear. "Quatre told me where you guys were cleaning and I remember noticing a lot of feathers in that area. There's a series of pigeons you need to clear out first, you've gotten closer to the nest and he's having a reaction to them now."

"How do you know this?" Heero asked.

"For the pigeons? I feed them. For Quatre? I asked him. Hey Heero, your advice paid off, asking works.* FYI: Apart from feathers, he's also allergic to shellfish, strawberries and penicillin." Duo added.

"Those are good things to know," Naibun said.

"Strawberries? That's not in your file either," Missy added.

He laughed ruefully, "I'm sorry...but can you wait for tomorrow? I'm not really in the mood to be interrogated at the moment. Naibun, I'm sorry to you too, I'm kind of stuck in here. The drill bit snapped."

"It's okay. How do you plan to get out?"

He chuckled, "Don't worry, we're going to wait for sunrise and scale the side of the building. It's too dark out right now."

"Please be careful, we've got a lot planned tomorrow," Naibun tried to keep it light.

Quatre laughed again, "I will, don't worry out there...I think you guys should call it a day."

"I'm finishing the dishes before I go. I'm still technically working."

"Alright. If you feel you need to, go ahead."

"I'm not complaining," Duo ended them off. The less he had to do, the better.

When the kitchen was up to par, when the girls were setting out, when _all_ was looking good, they heard a yell of panic from the basement. Missy rushed down with the other two behind her. She could hear Duo pound and yell from the other side of his door 'what's going on?!', to which she had no answer besides 'I don't know yet'. They got down to the bottom floor to catch Heero throwing something across the room and having it scamper out the opened back patio doors.

The light had been struck in the scuffle, it was pitch black. No one got to see the claw marks on Heero until they carted him upstairs into the light of the kitchen. A series of vertical scratches were on his neck and face. One spanned his brow on the right side, dangerously close to his eye. His gaze was wide with fear and his breathing short and frantic. He had been attacked by an animal nesting in the ceiling of the boiler room, it shook him.

"What happened?" Naibun asked, being the first one to muster words. They had sat Heero down at the kitchen table and she was applying first aid to the wounds by means of iodine on a cotton ball held by tweezers.

He winced each time the cold blob blotted his skin. Heero briefly contemplated telling them a lie, like, 'He was living in the boiler room. I thought the raccoon was friendly and wanted to pet him', but decided to go with the true answer instead. "I tried to touch him."

"Why?" Naibun asked in disbelief, still disinfecting his skin.

"Because...I didn't think he was really there." So much for proving his sanity to the principal, or anyone else for that matter.*

* * *

You likey?

Feeeeeedback people. Come on...feed me. DX


	28. Chapter 28: Bail: Duo Edi-wait a sec-

I feel like being silly. Time to be ridiculous!

Also, you'll get 'tang' in the next chapter. I couldn't work it in for this one without making it exorbitantly long. Chopping it up works better anyway, I get to make yet another pun this way(soon).

Choppy-choppy! XD

* * *

**Chapter 28: Bail: Duo Edi...wait a sec...**

* * *

"Racoons and tigers and bats! Oh my!" Duo chortled from behind the door. His voice was down low; it sounded like the news of the raccoon assault had floored him as well.

Heero stood outside the door, arms folded, leaning on the wall with an air of impatience. "Come out here now."

"Naw-uh, you're gonna hit me!"

"I'm not. The others are gone, we're talking."

"Didn't ya' hear what Quatre said...'bout the drill bit?"

"I did. Is it really broken?"

"...yes," one of them replied.

"Duo, are you really stuck in there?" Heero clarified.

There was a quiet explitif, followed by a loud 'thud'. The door's top insert popped out like a 'hidey hole'. Quatre laid down its mid-evil style, two-by-four locking mechanism behind Duo. "You're too quick, ya' know-Pff!" Duo had opened the upper portion of the door to face Heero. He burst out laughing again and back to the floor he went.

"What's the matter?" Quatre looked down to Duo and then up to Heero, who had about seven band-aids littering his face. He couldn't stifle an entire snicker either.

Heero sighed, "These were peeled open before I could say anything." He knew he had to be nice, so telling them 'no more' was fine, telling them to 'stick it to themselves' would have caused more tension. The shorter one seemed to be on edge after the mishap with the files. Her friend even looked for amusing distractions the remainder of the evening to boost her spirits.

Keeping his friends in order was also on his list of things to do(_so many things_). If he was to get anywhere in high school, he needed a tight circle of contacts to go with his wide circle of acquaintances. It was a constant work in progress. The close contacts needed to have their heads on straight, that was hard enough. "Have you been into anything?" he said to the first one, sounding unamused.

Duo picked himself up and crawled though the small opening the door supplied. "No."

Over Duo's shoulder, to Quatre, "What about you?" he asked.

"I'm not in the mood for something like that," he said as he exited the tomb.

"You were pretty enthusiastic about the beach idea," he unfolded his arms.

"You weren't?" Quatre shrugged him off and continued on.

Missy being there was obviously making waves, but the woman also served as an anchor. She was his physical reminder that an end could very well be in sight. He _did_ need to squeeze her for some more information, namely: How involved with the school's health program was she? And, does she even have the authority to effect his transfer at all? If not, then her usefulness would be expended upon completion of his medical history. He also needed to devise a way to find these things out without allowing her to catch on that he 'may' have been buttering her up some.

Duo was led downstairs to bear witness to the state of the house. "It doesn't even feel like the same place," he said and looked around, kicking some dust left behind. "I'll have to give these floors a good lickin' still."

Heero felt a pang of dread shoot through him. There _were_ two of him! And now they were going on a date together. Before the girls departed, Duo asked Kinsei if she would go with him on Saturday as a friend(this _was_ done through the door). She agreed to go, having never been to a real circus before either. Friendly outing or not, it was going to be Duo to the power of two! '_Duo squared_'! With that much influence, _he_ may keep acting like him too! Then they'd have Duo to the power of three, which was '_Duo cubed...it's like some kind of unholy Duo-trinity_!'

His attention came back to them. For some reason he still felt off; it was the whole reason he tried to touch a wild animal, it's existence, truly, was questioned. Even though he had 'come down' long ago, his mind continued to make strange connections. '_Are those stings back to pull things as they see fit? Did they ever leave to begin with? There are a lot of things that need strings, they need to be tied up_.' He laughed to himself about his internal dialog, briefly reminiscing about the things he needed to tie up.

The three went back up to the living room. "I don't know if I'm ready to open up so soon," Duo said, now being cornered about lashing out at Missy as he did. He sat back in the arm chair, leg slung over one side, arms lightly folded; he looked kind of cocky, sitting there as if he were entitled to answers.

Heero said, "You don't pull something like _that_-" points to his room, "-all day, only to say 'I don't want to anymore'."

He antagonized, "I ain't sayin' that at all. I'm sayin': Maybe if you opened up _a little _more, I would too."

"...you were clear in stating it had nothing to do with that," Heero said in annoyance.

"-It doesn't," Duo defended his deception and shifted positions, peeking evily over the arm of his chair, hiding his smirk. He looked like a cat ready to pounce. "But it _will_ speed things along...so, before all else..."

"..."

As he awaited Heero's answer, Duo double checked on Quatre. He looked spacy, with only half his attention diverted to Heero. Now Duo was starting to get worried about what he saw in Shauna's file too, he was never this distantly contemplative. "What are you waiting for?" he prompted Heero again.

Heero was having none of this. "I want to know what you were doing on the roof first," He stood his ground, Duo wasn't getting full control of the conversation. If he wouldn't talk about Missy, he'd at least get this one out of him.

Duo sighed, he was busted, "Fine, quid pro quo: I was jumping over to the neighbors house."

This stunned Heero. "Why?"

"Bathroom."

It wasn't a lie, it couldn't have been, it was Duo. "Doesn't the bathroom here work?" he asked.

"It does, but I can't go with a girl in the house; it's a thing, it's weird, I know," he said and waved the notion away with a nonchalant hand.

All he could do was shake his head, "I can't believe you broke in to someone's house to use their bathroom."

"It was an emergency!" Duo defended the desperation.

"Serves you right for eating all my preserves," Quatre remarked, having found the emptied bottle that morning. He had been saving those beets too, they were his favorite; Erica put extra honey in the mix for him. Sweetening it up kept his sister out.

"I guess. But it wasn't much of a punishment, the guy left all his _magazines _out." Duo said with a devilish snicker, meaning he meant 'naughty magazines'. They were in plain view, right on the edge of the bed, on the way into the master bathroom.

"You stole his magazines?" Quatre said with disbelief.

"What? I would never steal from a neighbor. I just used one. W-well, a couple of them, the first one didn't really do it for me."

"WHAT?!" they said.

"What? I said I put em' back!"

"You're a piece of work," Quatre shook his head in derision, but still retained the hint of a smirk.

"Fortunately you have a room for that now," Heero said, unable to make eye contact.

"At least I was _in a house; c_are to explain the foot prints on windshield." Duo was getting verbally catty now.

'..._when did I_...' Heero thought. It occurred to him that they must have been put there _when he put his seat back the other day_. "That's impossible." Though he was going to deny it.

"How so?"

"First, there's nothing to leave a mark with; until today, the weather's been good. Second, you would have had to dust to find even a trace of a footprint."

"I kind of did. Didn't ya' notice how warm the car was on the drive here yesterday?" he said, a wide smile arching itself on one side of his cheek, "I turned off the vents and put the windows up for a reason."

Quatre caught on right away, "I get it. That way, when the condensation built up, you could see any prints made recently."

"Precisely!" He pointed to the door where all the shoes were. "When I left, I put _your_ shoes on so I could compare the mark," he blushed, "They lined up perfectly. I'm impressed, feet up on the steering wheel, nice."

He had been busted. "That's where they went?! I had to stay up here until I found them."

"And the kitchen looks great," Duo assured him.

"Hold on," Heero pointed a finger at Duo, "You're steering the conversation."

"What?! No I'm not!"

"What were we talking about then?" Heero tested him.

"...bathroom?"

"No, I mean before that..."

"...right!" Duo said and turned fully to Heero, "Your personal life! Go," he said and sat up straight, hands neatly folded.

"That backfired," Quatre commented.

"I'll say," he said through the hand now covering as much of his face as he could. He meant the thing about Missy, but in Duo's mind, it was _his_ turn to pony up some information. "...wait a second...you took my shoes to do a side by side...so that means you were wearing them when you when next door?"

"Yes." Duo turned a bit red in the face.

"...you were wearing them...during?"

He laughed awkwardly, "Eh-heh, I just realized that myself too. Sorry bro, my bad."

Heero sat there, wanting to strike his friend in the face, but he held back. "You know what, forget it," Heero said and stood up.

"Hang on. Quid pro quo!"

"I said 'forget it'! I'm out." Heero was making his way to the door, pulling his sweater on as he did so. "...I'd take your boots instead, but-"

Duo laughed, retaining his coloration, "That won't do you any good. They've joined me too."

"...I give up," he said. As he slipped on his own sneakers, he vowed to burn them at the next earliest convenience.

"Don't be mad, I rea-" Duo began.

"-Quatre, do you need a ride home? It's starting to rain and I doubt the bus is making it up the hill," Heero asked.

"Fine, ignore me." Duo accepted he had crossed a line.

"I'll take my chances," Quatre responded to Heero.

"Ask the driver if he's heading up, if not, ask Duo if you can come back here," Heero suggested.

"Alright," he agreed to the arrangement. "You mind?" He looked to Duo.

"Why would I?" he said.

After Heero parted, Quatre couldn't help but point out, "He seemed upset."

"A bit."

"Why...exactly, did you...?"

"I was in a rush, I didn't think to take them off. Honestly, I only took them so I could jump over there to begin with, I wasn't even thinking about the footprints when I borrowed them. That idea only crossed my mind on the way back in here...hmm, probably should have mentioned that to him. Might have lessened the blow some, huh?"

He shrugged, "Kind of late now...so, your boots don't make jumping easy? How far was it?"

"Not sure. I did have to get two run up's, first one I chickened out on."

This seemed like a good distraction. "Can we check the distance?" Since Duo couldn't give him an accurate number, they went out to look. Hanging over the fence between the two houses, Quatre sized it up for him. "That's anywhere between eleven and thirteen feet. Impressive. We'll have to come back during the day to get a more accurate number, it's too hard to see at night." Quatre looked over his shoulder to the corner of Wufei's house, it dipped own a for the remaining six inches near the end. "We also need to consider when your feet left the roof. Was it right at the edge or bac-" he asked and looked to Duo. He was letting himself shaikly down from the fence. "You alright?" So much for the distraction.

"...I doubt it..." he said distantly and laid his feet on solid ground. His hand searched for something to hold on to, it found dirt and grass, he sat on it to hold on. "Quatre, what does it mean if your world goes all gray and sparkly?"

"That could mean-" he started to say as Duo took up _laying down_ in the grass, "-you're going to faint." He didn't lose consciousness, it just knocked him off his feet for a few fleeting moments. When the shock wore off, they tottered on back into the house.

"I...I could have died...and in the most undignified way possible," he hysterically laughed at himself through his fingers. It wasn't an over the top hysteria, it was actually quite quiet, as though he were snickering at someone he didn't want hearing him. His fingers were freezing as they held his cheeks for warmth. The shock had sucked all the warmth from his extremities.

Quatre tried to calmly talk to him. "And you didn't; but, for the record, doing it again is probably a bad idea-"

"-Do I make bad decisions?" **It** began. "I mean, I mean well...I do my best to get by, but am I wrong? Am I trying hard enough? Or am I just pawning my responsibilities off on my friends?" Duo was spiraling.

"You're doing fine Duo." Quatre really didn't believe what he said. Though he wanted to.

'_Damn that face reading book thing_!' He saw one of Quatre's 'tells' for lying. "Then why is that therapist here? Obviously something's up."

He blurted, "Weren't you the one getting after Heero for being paranoid? Settle down and look around you. You aren't the only one who feels helpless. Have you wondered why Wufei isn't here?"

"He's working."

"Maybe he is, but wasn't he supposed to be here on Friday?"

"Wait! He's not coming now?" Duo had thought he convinced Wufei to at least come along to Quatre's that weekend.

"Sorry, you called off today, I was going to tell you sooner. Wufei's out of town, so it's not like he's trying to avoid us."

"So, then why isn't he here? Work? Hard work?" He assumed that was what Quatre was getting at.

"Not what I meant. It's because he's got too much pride to accept the help we're giving. He didn't have to take the job, he only took it when you started getting other people over here to help. He left this morning."

"..." Duo thought about it. It was true, the guy didn't know how to ask for help. Much like himself, he usually ended up suffering in silence. When Wufei suggested Duo stay at his place for a while, it was only smarmy subtlety and hint dropping that he used to make his offer. He threw out the excuse that he didn't want to leave his house vacant too long, fearing someone would break in while he was on the road. "...maybe." He calmed down some. He did recall telling Heero that he'd accept help if he needed it. And judging by Quatre's countenance, he looked like he wanted to help.

_Duo thought about trying his luck with Quatre instead of Heero._ He was coming around with this 'dead rabbit' of his, so there was a chance. '_Nah, he'd never disclose_.' In the end, he chose not to. It was too early, they technically hadn't even been on a date yet. Back to the task at hand, he continued, "Maybe Heero's on to something. I've been eating kind of shitty lately, I'm just not thinking straight."

"That sounds like it could be it. You said your fridge was empty? Let me take a look to see what you do have, I'll pick up a few things you need." After a short back and forth of 'I don't need it's' and 'yes you do's', Quatre was let into the pantry. "...what are you talking about!? There's tons of food here!" He was going through boxes and cans of preserves and non-perishables.

"Yeah, well, maybe...I don't know how to cook."

"You boil milk and water, then stir it," he said and shook one box in particular.

Duo folded his arms and turned away, "I tried, tons of times! I just can't cook!"

"Okay, I'm sorry..." An idea came to him for tomorrow. His every intention was to keep Shauna from having a drink, more so now than ever, and cooking seemed like a nice distraction. There was a good chance it would work for both of them. He nodded, "When you're cooking food, you try to do other things, don't you?"

"Yup."

"There's your problem: Unless you're a seasoned chef, you should watch everything you cook. Even still, I watch what I cook, and I've done it for years."

"But that's so boring," Duo wined.

Quatre was feeling a bit better. If this was the problem he was having, it was easy to fix. The prospect of helping a friend learn a life skill was invigorating, the fact it was 'cooking' made it that much better. "Do you want to learn how to cook? There are other ways around it being 'boring'. Not everything you cook needs to be stood over, you just need to cook the right things. Soups and stews are a good choice."

"My good sir, if you can manage to make cooking _not_ a pain in the ass, by all means, I'll learn. But for the record, as of right now, I hate it."

"I can tell." He held up a box, "This is rice. If you can't cook rice, we have a problem."

"The only problem with that is I don't have a strainer."

"..."

"O-okay, we have a strainer, but rice always slips through the holes."

"..."

"...what? I don't even like that rice. All the flavor get's washed away in the water! There's not nearly enough left over to flavor the rice itself."

"..."

"...stop looking at me like that!"

"You don't strain rice."

"How was I supposed to know that?!" he yelled.

"You read the back!" he raised his voice too and flipped the box around.

Duo looked at it with a squint, nothing of interest popped out. "How bout that...you need a certain amount of water." He said unknowingly.

Idea. "...how much water?"

"...Why would I need to know that? I told you I don't like that rice anyway."

Quatre was on to him. "How much water, Duo?"

"..."

"...you can't see it, can you?"

"..."

"Do you need glas-"

"NOPE!" Duo said and turned and left Quatre in the kitchen, holding the rice box. As he walked to his room, he spoke loudly, "I'm not meant to cook. You can see yourself out. If you need to come back, the living room chairs are all yours. You're welcome to any and all the rice you can handle. Goodnight and see you tomorrow!" He dropped the latch to his door, successfully hiding himself for the evening, and avoiding answering any and all questions from there on out.

That wasn't a reaction he was expecting. He checked his watch and the back of the box, "...I have time." Quatre made the rice and left it in the fridge. He even tossed in a can of mixed vegetables to flesh the meal out. Duo needed to eat, and if he couldn't make food for himself, Quatre felt he had to do something. Heero mentioned a similar concern in passing as they cleaned earlier. Was this the reason he wasn't eating properly? He did notice Duo was looking more slender than usual. This gesture seemed harmless enough.

When he was finished, it was dark out and beginning to rain harder. Quatre needed his sweater to walk for the bus. The garment he thought was his turned out to be Duo's large sized sweater instead. He had to take it, there was no time to look for his own, the bus was coming soon. He figured Duo wouldn't mind, it was only going to be until morning; possibly not even, if the bus wasn't running past his house. He threw it on and left, sure to make the door shut loudly, alerting Duo to him leaving.

He _did_ hear the front door from his room. "Finally..." Duo said, standing with his back against the door. He assumed a decent way to cool down after a stressful day was to have a toke, he just needed to wait until Quatre left. A hand went into an empty pocket. Panic! He looked at the label on the collar. To his dismay, he had picked up Quatre's small sweater instead of his own _medium_. They were similar in size and easy to mix up. "...crap...I knew this fit too nicely...ah, damn, I'm hungry too." He held his stomach.

Since he couldn't read the instructions on _any_ of the boxes, he gave up on caring about the hunger pangs. He curled up on the one thing in the room, under his one blanket, on his one pillow. There were too many worries on his mind; at least he didn't have to worry about strangling any of his guests now. They were gone. He was the one left.

* * *

And there you have it. The lowest point! DX

Also... *high five for not-so-classy masturbation references*!

As for the chapter title, the other chapter titled 'Bail' was about Duo to begin with, so 'lol' and all. Plus, it's kind of a play on all the uncertainty Duo's feeling. XP

I'd also like to point out, Quatre compared his level of paranoia to Heero's. Not a good idea at this point.

And...why does Duo want to talk to Heero so much? Why consider Quatre?

Why do I keep pointing out Duo doesn't want to be alone? What's up?

Oh...the unanswered questions.

Ooh! One more: Can you make sense of Trowa and Shauna? (Cause right now, they're my favorite. =P)

If you don't want to overload me with reviews, okay, I get it, not till I'm done...but geez, I want to know what you think of the plot so far. PM me if you have a guess you'd like to share, I'd love to hear it. :D

Peace out, yo.


	29. Chapter 29: OCDuo

Quatre's girly, huh?

We're going to look into this some more...lol and all. XD

* * *

Chapter 29: OCDuo

* * *

_Hilde picked up his ship's signal at the last minute, she needed to stop off and see him. Slinking over in a single space suit: Easy peasy. Slipping off it's helmet: Piece of cake. Sliding two very heavy arms around Duo's neck: Murder. She was bold and kissed him, an action he graciously returned. Not knowing when she'd be seeing Duo again, she wanted to etch as much of him into her memory as possible._

_The embrace led them to bump the cockpit's wall; the lack of gravity made things difficult. He laughed a little, "And here I thought it'd be all graceful and romantic with no gravity. You could end up with a concussion if you get too into it."_

"_Only in the movies, huh?" She laughed. "Try holding on," she said and nodded upward, to above his head._

_Looking up, "Can do." His hand clasped the bar conveniently located above him. The other hand, to his side, held a steel ladder. "Anchored." They resumed. The contact was welcomed, but being in a space suit made it relatively impossible to take the scenario any further. He broke their kiss and said, "It's starting get a little warm," he implied with that cute smirk she adored, "Not that I mind..." he assured her._

_She loosened her grip, "Is this too restricting?" she asked, tugging on his shoulders. Protocol dictated they keep their suits on at all times when traveling. If the suit didn't allow room to grow, it would be wise to wait for another time._

_He shook his head. "Nope. It does, however, make it difficult to continue."_

_The line alone was enough to 'stir' her. "Continue?" she asked, sounding quieter. "You'd want to go further?"_

"_Of course," he mirrored her volume._

_She touched foreheads with him, "I guess it would be pretty impossible to do anything right now."_

"_I said 'difficult', not impossible."_

"_Really now?" she asked._

_He blushed, "Through the suit is fine...if...you don't mind doing something like that."_

"_Not at all," she looked devilish. "It's kind of kinky," she said and rubbed the front of his suit. Even through the thick material she could feel how aroused he was becoming._

_He let his head fall back and her fingers traced his form. "Naughty girls are awesome."_

_Hilde skillfully caressed the length of him. It wasn't the first time she laid hands on him, but it was going to be the first time she took hold with the intent of finishing him off. She gave extra attention to the tip, a place she came to understand as a sensitive area, made him emit quite noises of delight. "You'll have to tell me if it feels good, I'm flying blind here..." She slipped in closer, "I know..." she said quietly and looped her legs around his thighs to hold on snugly. Her thumbs now played a bigger role by framing and fulfilling the sides of his stiff._

"_Don't worry, you got me," he commented and adjusted to his new attachment. Pressing enough to be felt though the material, but not so much to cause discomfort, he couldn't help but let out a few more gentle sighs to alert her to his approval. These ones were a tiny bit louder. "Do this-" he said and loosened his grip on one side to show her a 'rolling knuckle' motion, hand on it's side, "-closer to the top."_

_She did as instructed, "This?"_

_He let out a soft cry of recognition, "Yeah...a bit lower." He felt Hilde shift her position half an inch. "A little lower." Once more, obedience. "Right there-" he quickly said, "-and keep that pace." He steadied himself, he was getting close. She picked up the pace occasionally, whenever his hips stifled any thrusts. __'I hate to rush this, but we don't have much time.'_

_A few obvious outward breaths escaped and then his arms jerked. His lower half also twitched as he tried to hold still; the full motion would have sent them both bouncing around the cab. Hilde's hand rested on his back, pulling him closer. It delivered more pressure, enough to release the tension that had been building. "Slow down a little, you got it-you got it-I'm there," he said as his body pulsated. The pangs of his 'arrival' radiated through the suit and delightfully racked his body._

"_I didn't think that would work."_

_Catching his breath, "Like you wouldn't believe. Woo. I needed that," he said with a sigh, "I wish I could return the favor," he said and cupped her bottom with his two hands, "Guess we'll have to meet up again like this when we get to earth." He tugged her close for another kiss._

"_I'll hold you to that," she said and leaned in for a full hug to go with her kiss._

_The things she clamored for were granted, but he still groaned, "Ahh, wasn't thinkin'...it's warm," upon full contact._

"_Wha-?" she quickly let go and smirked, "Oops," she giggled, floated back and then, shortly after that, back to her ship._

_'And back to reality.'_

At least his day started out okay; waking up early _did_ have it's vantage points. Releasing a little more tension was in order after last night. After washing up, Duo finished getting ready for school. As he was leaving, an odd sight caught his eye. "Was that-?" It only registered with him when he was halfway out the door. Back in the house, "-Quatre?" he said.

The one who was curled up in the largest arm chair stirred awake with a jump. He remembered where he was when his eyes focused on familiar objects. "Morning." He stated without the 'good' to top it off.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come back last night." He was red, like the beets he stole, desperately wondering if he had made any noise during his 'me time' or not.

"I assumed you were asleep, I didn't want to wake you." He looked around, baffled and amazed, but only for a few moments. "Right...that's dumb..." he said to himself.

"You should have said something. Heero spent the night in that chair and was cramped up for the entire day."

"...I can believe that..." He squinted the sleep from his eyes.

He noticed Quatre's discomfort and stepped back. '_He heard_!' Duo hesitated, but asked, "S-something the matter?"

"Nothing major; I forgot to take my contacts out before bed. They're itchy," he said and stood up kind of sad, because for a brief moment, he thought his vision had come back to him overnight. '_That's the second time I did that too, ech_.' Creaky, he stretched and cracked his neck in both directions. A look at his watch determined, "It's not time for school."

'_Is this a normal wake up ritual, or was it caused by the chair_?' Duo wondered. "I know. I was leaving early to get something to eat." He had a sandwich shop who's sale day was Friday. A big breakfast, cheaper than the extra large coffee he normally drank? It was a hard deal to pass up.

Quatre straightened his clothing, but ultimately still looked displease at it. "..." Quickly checking himself in the hall mirror revealed the product he used in his hair had given out during the night, half-unstyling it.

"I have a spare uniform if you want to change."

"...No thanks, I think I'm going to take the day off. It'll be too hard to get everything together in time to be prepared for a day at school." He ruffled his hair and wore it long. If it was only going to be half done, there was no point to have it done at all. "I wouldn't mind borrowing a shirt for the walk." He didn't need anyone thinking he was playing hooky; he was doing _just that_, but he didn't need anyone thinking it.

"No prob," he said and left to grab a shirt, awestruck at the idea of Quatre going out in public looking as he did. '_He looks 'scruffy'_.' And 'scruffy' wasn't a word he _ever _imagined using to describe Quatre. Ever! "Oh-" he panicked internally, but managed to hold it together externally. He brought Quatre a random black t-shirt and mentioned, "I think I have your sweater."

"That's right," he said and slipped it off his shoulders. "That's my fault, I didn't have time to look for mine before I left." He explained the rice.

"Aw, thanks. You didn't have to do that. I'm taking it for lunch then." Duo thought he was hallucinating the smell of rice and veggies wafting into his room. They swapped sweaters. "...Large? This isn't mine."

"Huh, Heero must have yours then...this one's mine," he said and slipped the 'small' over his arm.

'_I'm boned_,' he thought. Quatre finding the weed in his pocket would have been easy to dodge, but Heero wouldn't let it slide so easily. Especially now, since he probably developed a not-so-good opinion on mind altering substances. He'd go to school, sneakily trade with Heero and slip away. Hopefully that way, he wouldn't have to do any explaining.

After Quatre called his teachers, they set out. The staff was sympathetic and told him to take it easy for the day. They too knew full well of the ongoing issue with the transit system.

Duo took them to the sandwich shop and bought his friend to breakfast, as a thank you for the rice and offering to fill the fridge. Quatre's cards were useless at the small vendor anyway. Meager, he felt, but he saw delight in Quatre upon making the offer. As they awaited their orders, he had to ask, "Why didn't you call the attendance line to call off?"

"I could, but then it would count as an absent day. They said if I do it the other way, it doesn't get recorded at all."

Duo's eyebrow went up. "Can anyone do that?" It was the first he'd heard of it.

"I don't know...they didn't give you that option?"

Duo shook his head, "Nah. I don't think they told Heero either. He had to wait until the attendance line picked up yesterday, it was a pain."

"...odd." He looked annoyed.

"...hmm." Duo saw yet another lie. Apparently Quatre realized the reason for the special treatment as quickly as he did. It was the same as the police officer letting him off with a warning; the name 'Winner' meant a lot, to a lot of people. "Don't worry about it."

They got their orders and kept walking. Duo was still going to school that day, he had to get his sweater back from Heero. '_The thief! Oh no, it's happening to him too?! Thief is my bit!_' Duo dreaded the impending identity crisis. '_Tangent, tangent, tangent_,' he thought, desperately trying to look for one.

First stop was the Pharmacy; he had plenty of time to grab a few things before first bell. After they grabbed Quatre solution for his contacts, they headed to the grocery store. Duo had seceded and allowed Quatre to buy him a few things; maybe he'd find a distraction in there.

They walked to the local market as they ate. "This is so much food." Quatre looked at the nutritional information on the side of his container, "Ah, I see why you only go on Fridays. Is that the same sandwich you had last week?"

"I think so." Duo looked down at his sandwich, consisting of whole wheat bread, several layers of roast beef, all topped with sauerkraut and melted provolone. There was a pile of lettuce too, but that was requested as an extra topping. "Apart from the lettuce," he said and finished the last bite.

"I'll have to try it next time, it looks good." Quatre was taking longer, the onions on top of his order were slippery and refused to stay on the sandwich. He had to keep repositioning it in the tray. What was worse, the clerk at the grocery store said he wasn't allowed to bring in an outside food item. "Seriously?" He was half tempted to 'name-drop' on himself just so she'd let him in with it. "I know," he said and proceeded to shove the last third of the massive sandwich in his mouth. It was so large, he needed to inhale a bit just to consume the bulk of the bite. With a few hardened 'chews' alternating with bits of 'gulping' the sandwich was gone in a few seconds.

Duo was filled with glee as they made their way down the first aisle. "...that...was...awesome!"

He laughed, "I only do it when I'm in a rush. Shauna hates it, she says I look like a duck trying to swallow food."

"That _is_ how they do it."

"Uh-uh, I didn't tilt my head back, so it was more like a 'snake'."

Apparently this conversation had happened before, that response was far to well delivered. "Does this mean you're going to coil around a tree branch and sleep it off?" They laughed and got on with their trip.

"Maybe," he said while reading the back of a package.

A guy in passing bumped into him. "Watch where you're going," he snarked and continued on.

Quatre kept quiet and repositioned himself to finish reading.

"Want me to rough him up?" Duo asked and peered at the guy's back as he moved about the store.

"I'm fine..." he continued reading. He snickered.

"...you sure?" He assumed the laughter was a nervous sort.

"Oh yeah; I was just thinking about how much easier my life would be if I were allowed to slap just one, single person each day. It's amusing." He snickered again and continued on down the aisle, having found a sufficient brand of pasta to work with. Quatre was polite on the outside, but it seemed his internal track varied drastically.

Duo followed along, scared; not for his safety, but for his image. '_And here I went and called him feminine_.' All Quatre had been showing him on this 'off' day of his was the direct opposite. '_I've got things to fall back on! He still can't drink, he bakes in his spare time, there's the piano stuff...all them credit cars...yeah...I'm good...yeah,_' Duo stopped and realized, '_We're shopping together...so we can cook together...dammitall_!' He needed a distraction. His tangent hunt failed miserably, he needed back up. He looked to his left: A wall of chocolate bars. '_...that'll do_.' He thought and began to pilfer bar after bar, stealthily stuffing as many into his coat as he could fit. The day was warm, but the morning was beginning to get that autumn time 'cold snap' effect to it, he was glad the jacket now had _two _functions.

The glint of a familiar name on a piece of cover art caught Quatre's eye. "There's something that doesn't belong in the discount bin," Quatre said and picked up an album by 'Modest Mouse'. "I don't have this one yet," he said and read the track list of 'We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank'. The disk had been discarded in the wrong place, it was much more expensive than the other surrounding titles.

Duo died inside. That was one of _his_ favorite bands! '_He listens to epic music too? There goes the piano._' He didn't care anymore; if he liked music, this was way better than a tangent. It was still within the realm of reality, it had substance. "When did you start liking this stuff?" he tapped the CD in his friend's hand.

He thought about it, "For as long as I can recall. Shauna introduced me to a lot of the 'recent' bands I have on my iPod, so I'll have to give her the credit for those."

He considered Modest Mouse quality(or recent)? He figured Bach, Mozart and Chopin would be topping his list. "What else do you listen to?" Now he had to know.

Again, he had to think, "You got me into 'Queen'."

"No way, you had Queen on that machine already."

"True. But I heard you listening to it on the intercom once a couple years ago. I was drawn ever since. Funny though, I never asked you who the band was, I kept forgetting. I had to ask around, I only remembered a fer of the lyrics. I ended up waiting over a year to find out who they were."

"You remembered lyrics for that long?" That was dedication. "What song was it?"

"It was 'Bohemian Rhapsody'."

"No way," Duo was touched.

"After that, I found 'Killer Queen', 'Headlong', 'The Show Muse go on' and 'Miracle'. They're really good."

"Shame Freddy's gone, I'd have loved to see him in concert. He's got so much energy." And they went on to talk about Queen, Modest Mouse, Infected Mushroom and even Tool.

"Honestly, I prefer ska and techno, but neither of those sound good on the piano. At least not without losing some amount of 'edge'."

'_Quatre has edge? I'm ruined! Wait! ...it's just with music...I think I'm good._' Duo reflects on his qualities. '_What's left? Uh...uh...credit cards and he can't drink! Right! I can still be on top...or on par...I don't know._' He looked to his right: Things to steal! His cool guy factor was augmented by his thievery, something Hilde admired back in the day; now it was the reason she was gone. '_Might as well take advantage of my free time while she's gone...get it out of my system_." And thus he began to steal things, left, right and center.

When they got to the cash, Quatre laid their items on the counter and reached for one of his many cards. The clerk gave him an exorbitant number to pay. "What?! Why?!" Quatre picked up the box that had gold leafing on the outside, "Is all the pasta covered in gold too?!" He saw the female clerk blankly point to Duo. He turned to see his friend's jacket stuffed to the brim with various foods and junk. "...I can cover this." Quatre put the first card back and pulled out a different one.

Duo was relieved to know that he would always have that feminine thing to fall back on. "Sorry, I steal when I'm stressed."

"I know, don't worry about it," he said with a sigh. "I'm more bothered by this thing tonight."

"You worry too much. Besides, you said we're relaxing, not partying...though I do plan to have a few," he hinted.

"Go ahead, I'm still not a fan. You can have my share."

Duo rejoiced, he would always have the ability to drink more than Quatre. '_How many did he have at the banquette? I had eight by the end of it...let's see..._' He counted the wine Quatre had at dinner, the beer he got for him, the double blue lagoon, the double blue eyed blond, a single yagger bomb and one shot of whiskey, that he mentioned the next day. '_Wait a sec, we had the same amount...and I was the one who was puking by the end of the night...I'm the one who can't drink...crap...damn...dammitall again!_' Duo looked forlorn. How could he have missed that?

"Wait a sec," he said and pieced some things together, "Why did the wine make you so sick that day?" he asked, assuming Quatre knew what he was talking about.

"That's because-" His phone rang, "It wasn't me-Hello?" he answered his phone.

'_He was covering for his sister_!' Duo figured it out.

'_'I'm saving my money' he says_,' was all his sister said while snickering over the line.

"It was an emergency purchase. And what are you doing tracking my spending?"

'_Iria left me in charge of the cards, I get automatic updates. I'm only calling because you could have used the 'orange card'_.'

Quatre turned and looked at the sign on the front of the store they had just left. "I didn't even notice, sorry."

'_No biggie. You got to look for that symbol everywhere. It's wasting your money, not mine, I just wanted you to know_.'

"Thank you Shauna," they hung up.

"What was that?"

"I used the wrong card. I've got a few different credit cards for certain shops in town, it's for bookkeeping purposes. My main card is the money I'm allotted for the month, what I don't use gets put on my savings card. It lets Iria-or Shauna now-know if I'm making regular purchases that could be invested in by our company. It saves money in the long run, but it's such a pain. I'm up to eight credit cards now. I'm hoping they condense them soon, my wallet is full."

It wasn't feminine at all! It was 'fiscal'! Duo raised his arms in the air, "What the hell?!" All of the candy fell, catching the eye of the children passing by. They were attached to a leash by each one of their wrists. Some of them tried to defy their caregiver holding the lead and attempted to rush the candy. Duo raised a hand to the kids, "Hang on!" He knelt down and pawed through the ones that had any allergy warnings. "Some of these have peanuts...and that's it. Have at 'er!" And he began to walk off at a pace that said 'pissed off'.

"Duo!?" Quatre watched the children overpower the adult in charge. She was brought to her knees as the young ones raided the rather large pile of sweets.

"Enjoy the sugar rush, lady," Duo yelled over his shoulder.

"That was a bit much, don't you think?"

"Not even, they're kids, not animals...or prisoners..." He looked at the chocolate and allergy warnings in his two hands. "Do you like these?"

Quatre looked at the rather salty-sweet bar. "Not really, but Shauna does."

"Here," he said and placed the bars in the bag that held the food they were going to be cooking. "Take these to your place, I'll be there after lunch. Today's going to be a short day for me."

"Sure." They parted.

Now all Duo had to do was get his sweater back from Heero. He was going to spend a length of time debunking the idea that Quatre was more masculine than he was. '_It's no use. He's not feminine, he's a friggin' prince. Chivalrous to the core._' It wasn't going well.

* * *

I take it back: THIS, is the lowest point. Maybe...

The deadly parabolic downswing that is Duo's depression is a deep ditch.

(Fuck, I hated parabolas...but I love alliteration! XDX)

So many things are lining up right now, I hope my wrist keeps up, I'm dying to get to the circus scene! :D

Thoughts? Opinions?


	30. Chapter 30: Get Cooking

I'm getting committed! Yea!

I need to finish this arc before the men in white take me away. lol

Serious...I snapped. I can't take this pain anymore. It has literally driven me crazy.

Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 30: Get Cooking**

* * *

What could have caused Duo to act like that? Was he really in that bad of a mood? Quatre decided to take hold of the situation and called Heero before first bell. "I think I may have overdid it."

'_How's that possible_?' Heero had intercepted Quatre on his walk to the bus the night past to talk to him. He wasn't cross with Duo, but getting even with him wasn't out of the question. He told Quatre to blow this 'masculine-feminine' thing out of the water. Harmless. He thought.

Quatre explained how he managed to cover all the bases Heero mentioned, "I think I may have broke the poor guy."

'_I said drop your manners for a while, not emasculate him_.'

"I didn't go out of my way. And I wasn't expecting to find a Modest Mouse album." He was pumped about the find.

'_Doesn't matter. I hope this makes him realize how pointless all these labels are_.'

"You have a point. Labels? Right, you have his sweater. He's taking a half day to get it from you."

There was a bit of shuffling over the line, '_Oh yeah, look at that. I knew this was too snug in the arms_.' Another pause. '_What's this..._?'

"Hmm?"

'_God dammit, Quatre. I've been turned into a mule_.'

"Come again?"

'_I gotta go_,' he said and ended the call.

"..." Why was everyone acting so strange? Trowa was faking a cold. Duo was paranoid. Heero was sneaking around. Wufei was missing. "Eh...actually, that last one is normal..." But for what reason? He said it was work, but Quatre doubted that.

He hopped the bus and made it all the way home. He entered the den, where the karaoke machine was, and saw Shauna behind it. Presumably unplugging it. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied, "How come..." she looked at the clock, "Are you off today?"

"No, I just couldn't get it together to go today."

She looked excited, "You're skipping? Proud of you."

He shook his head, "Not intentionally."

"I know, I tease. Help me?" she asked and tapped the machine. They wheeled it down to the new bathroom.

"The moisture won't damage this, will it?"

"...it may...if we could leave it in the hall, we could hook it up to the speakers in the bathroom."

"The bathroom has speakers? Odd."

"Not even. During a bath, I like nature sounds, Erica likes the cello, and now Duo," she tapped the machine, "Wants to karaoke. All signs point to the bathroom needing a sound system."

"I see...do you know how-"

"-not a clue." How to hook it up.

"I'll ask Duo when he gets here. He's good with this sort of thing."

"Awesome..." She could see the tension in his face. "You don't look good...everything okay?" She knew how he got when one of his 'rituals' was thrown off.

"I'm looking forward to relaxing tonight, that's all." He equivocated.

An equivocation she picked up on, "I'll make sure of it." She had been testing her brother, not intentionally; her freedom had been returned and she was making the most of it. '_I knew I should have laid low a little longer_.' It seemed her elation was at her sibling's expense. "So, what's all this?" Referring to the bag of goodies in his hand.

Quatre looked down at his purchase. "Duo had a sweet tooth, but he couldn't bring peanuts into the school. He said you can have them," he said as he went through the bag and came out with all the bars.

"...and all this came to how much? Did you get gold pasta?" She saw the gold-leaf though the bag and made a similar ridiculous assumption as Quatre did.

"Oh no," he said with a chuckle and explained the whole chocolate bar incident.

Shauna burst out laughing, "Oh dear, good thing he was with you. They'd have hauled him off to the slammer for something like that." His sister loved the special treatment.

Quatre hated the special treatment. "Either way, he's coming over around lunch to cook food for tonight."

"Aww, you guys are cooking together."

Quatre huffed, "He doesn't cook, he's learning."

"He's learning from the right person," she smiled, "If you need anything, let me know."

Giving it some thought, "We did get that fish the other day...is it still here?"

"I was thawing it since yesterday, it's in the fridge."

"Great. I picked up cooking sherry and was wondering if you could whip up some of that hash you made the night you got here." It was fish and potatoes and a bunch of other things all mish-mashed together. It didn't look the best, but it was sinfully delicious! Quatre ended up eating the bulk of it.

"Oooh, good idea. What do you have planned?"

"Soup with pasta. I was thinking minestrone."

"We have sausage; Italian Wedding."

Quatre snapped a finger, "Even better." And they got to work.

A time in, "Hmm," Shauna pondered loudly.

Quatre looked up from peeling potatoes, "Hmm?"

"It's actually got alcohol in it," she said and held up the sherry.

'_And it begins_,' he thought. "Of course it does, it says 'cooking wine' right on the bottle."

"Well, I thought it might have been dealcoholized or something, you know, so you just get the wine flavor..."

"Please, don't drink it."

"I want to try it," she said and looked at the back of the bottle, "Eeh, don't worry, it'll only be a sip. There's salt in this," she said as she poured a tiny bit into the bottom of a cup. Enough for a mouthful.

"Must you?" It probably had salt in it to add to the flavor _and_ deter people from drinking it to get intoxicated.

"Bottom's up," she said and took the liquid into her mouth. Gulp. "Dear god!" she yelled, "It tastes like hate!" Shauna desperately looked for something to mask the flavor. She even tried to wipe the taste from her tongue with a dry rag.

Quatre couldn't stop laughing. "And here I thought you liked salty food." He now knew how to keep his sister out of the wine: Salt the bottles if things get out of hand.

"Don't you laugh, my face is on fire."

"It can't be that bad." Now he was curious.

"Here tough guy, let's see you handle it."

"No thanks."

"Wuss."

He sighed. He was no wuss. "Fine. No more till tonight."

"I wasn't trying to drink, and I'm not drinking tonight. I get to play the role of 'server', so I need my head in the game," she said and immediately noticed Quatre soften. He hardened up again after consuming the sherry shot. "Not so easy, is it, eh?!" she said with a snicker.

Without hesitation, he reached into the cupboard, grabbed some vinegar, swished and spit it in the sink. "Like pie," he replied and got back to work.

"...does...does that work to kill the flavor?" She knew it got the smell out of porous dishes, but would it work on her mouth?

He nodded.

She swished and spit. "AGH!"

Quatre laughed and ended up kneeling on the floor to shoulder the hilarity.

She smacked her lips, "...it worked. Eh, no more sherry, no more...except on the fish," she said and took it back over to the stove. "I hope I didn't ruin sherry for myself," she sampled the fish, "...nope, we're good."

Duo showed up earlier than expected. He managed to get cornered by Heero on break, who heckled him roundly for keeping drugs in his school sweater. He wasn't mad though, apart for that one reason. '_Am I...okay_?' Why was Heero okay with him using an illegal substance? Did he care anymore? '_He must be really mad_.' Duo had let himself into Quatre's place and made his way to the downstairs kitchen. The former location of the 'trippy' medicine. "Yo," he said, sounding tired. Or sad?

"Yo! We're cooking, cheer up," Shauna declared in Quatre's absence.

"I'd rather watch...where's Quatre?"

"He's adding chemicals to the tub."

"Chemicals?" Quatre was bad at English, and from what he'd heard about Shauna, she was bad at Japanese. Did she mean soap? Was he getting a bath?

"The big tub needs it. Lest no one gets clean tonight."

"Big...so what exactly-tonight?"

"Does Quatre not show the house off or something? What's the point of renovating if you aren't going to let your friends and family enjoy it. Geez. Come on, I'll show you," she said and tugged him into the hallway.

Duo's jaw hit the floor when he saw the massive Turkish bath they renovated. "Quatre...when you get things like this installed...please tell us."

Quatre turned on a faucet to help wash the chemicals around. "They have bath houses all over the city like this," he said with a smile.

"True, but here is free, there's karaoke and sake," he said and pointed to the long line of sake bottles for the evening.

"Did...did you put those there?" Quatre didn't notice the bottles when he came in.

"Yeah. It's a Turkish bath, but it's also got Japanese influences." She pointed to the bath accessories and the dividers for the changing area. "I felt it was suiting...plus I couldn't haul the whole minibar down here."

Duo was exploring. "Is this a hot tub?" He yelled from the other side of the room.

"Yeah," Shauna said.

"Dibs," he replied.

"He seems down from the other day. Everything okay?"

Quatre shook his head, "He had a bit of a fight with a friend, then there's this psychologist we're dealing with and I'm convinced he's dwelling on Hilde," he said, remembering the look on his face when he accidentally brought her up the other day. It was when they checked out the swim team. His mood had been steadily decreasing since then. He even started to think it may have started sooner, like, at the banquette the held by the Peacecraft family.

"Hilde?"

"Old girlfriend."

"Aww, poor guy..." She looked less chipper saying this.

Was she sympathizing? "I think tonight will do him some good. Focus on getting him to relax, he lacks focus."

"Nice. Also, I don't think he's too thrilled about cooking, so keep it simple."

"I know. That's why I stuck with soup."

"I'll get him to do the potatoes and sausages."

"Make sure not to use the maple ones."

"Maple flavor in soup...I don't think that would be very good."

"It's not, trust me." He grabbed the wrong package once. "Maple and mustard also doesn't taste very good either."

"Ah, I remember that. Ech! That was the time you inhaled your food. Duck!"

"Snake."

"Gross," she rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"Funny," he corrected her.

"What are we doing?" he had come back around the corner.

"Debating dinner tonight. I have to finish up here, could you two tend to the soup?"

"I thought I was supposed to help?" Duo asked.

"You are. I only have the broth on, you need to cut and add the vegetables. Then the meat gets added in the middle of it simmering-Shauna," he turned to her, "I'll be a couple minutes, do you mind helping him for now?"

She nodded.

"Cool," Duo said and followed her back to the kitchen. The potatoes were peeled and only needed to be cut. "I don't really feel like I'm doing much..." Cutting and dropping the veggies in water didn't seem like a lot of effort.

"You aren't. None of us are. We're sharing the loads. Trust me, cooking on your own is a hassle. Even having someone do 'one step' for you can really lighten the load." Peeling was time consuming, so it ate up a lot of one's 'gusto' to keep cooking.

"...I guess I really don't know anything about cooking."

"If no one taught you, how could you? Can't give what you don't get, right?" She said knowingly.

He nodded and continued chopping. "...yeah..." he didn't sound sure. "Ah," he said as he cut his finger. "Dammit," he placed it over the sink, the blood was dripping.

"Shit, shit, here," she said and grabbed a towel. Rushing over, she put pressure on the cut. After holding it steady for a second, "Can I look at it?" she asked and took note to Duo's lack of reaction to being injured.

"Sure."

She lifted the rag and saw that the cut wasn't very deep. "You're a good bleeder, I thought it was a lot deeper." She wrapped his finger and got him to hold it. "I have a big bandage, hold on. C-can you wash it," she said with a cringe. She hated washing cuts and other wounds.

"Yeah." He began running cool water over it. After he was all patched up, Shauna showed him the way to hold things properly. She wanted him to avoid nicking anymore fingers on the knife.

She was off and Quatre was back.

"She doesn't seem sick." Duo said.

Quatre knew he was trying to comfort him. "I know...but people don't have organs removed for fun."

He wouldn't say anything about it yesterday, so this information was new. "Removed? What one? Accessory organ, or-"

"It's not an accessory organ," meaning an organ that didn't necessarily need to be there for one's body to still function correctly, "...but I guess you could live without it..."

"...am I not allowed to know?"

He shook his head, "I'm not supposed to know...and...oh no...now it makes sense." Quatre covered his eyes, trying to piece the information he had together to make a semblance of an explanation.

"What is it? Come on, I'm no gossip." The suspense was killing him.

"I can't," he said. '_There must be another reason_,' he comforted himself. It did make her separation from her fiance make a bit more sense. '_Omar wanted children. Why stay with someone who can't naturally have any_?' She was honest when she said she wasn't abused by him. Was this the real reason then? '_Still, why would a twelve year old need a hysterectomy? It doesn't seem normal in any respect_.' His thoughts trailed on.

"I...I've lost you...haven't I?" Duo raised an eyebrow as he waited for Quatre to leave his contemplative bubble. He continued chopping until Quatre came back to him.

* * *

I have stomach pain...I'm not talking about the pain in my wrist...though, that that isn't helping either.

I'd ask for your opinion...but I won't get it.  
Peace out.

See ya next time.


	31. Chapter 31: Truth Surfacing

Lol, I'm back...back from surgery! XD  
I've had stitches in me arse for weeks! DX

I've been healing and I'm feeling great, but there's a lot of stuff going down in my life right now.  
I need to stay positive! :D

You've read quite a bit...over 30 chapters in...some of you must know what I'm doing by now.

I told **one** of you flat out what I'm doing. ^^

This story is a metaphor.

The _whole_ thing.  
Start to end.  
Every character, event and relationship is a metaphor!

It's actually the reason I've been taking so long with my updates.  
When I noticed I was doing it, I needed to overhaul some things.

I'll go more in depth about how the metaphors work when I'm finished. Ten, or so, more chapters away! Woot! :D

I'll give you some hints...  
Duo is my _image_.  
Quatre is my _logic_.

So far: I've broken Duo and stressed Quatre to the nines...see if you can figure out what Shauna and Trowa represent? ;D

* * *

**Chapter 31: Truth Surfacing**

* * *

Quatre preserved when he heard that Duo sliced though the crook of his thumb; he assumed the guy knew how to deal with a little blood. He did however use the perceived tension from the incident to think a bit more deeply about his sister's _potential _condition. It made it possible to worry about her while she was still in the room. '_If it was anything serious, __she'd__ tell me. Reproductive problems run in the family...maybe it's because of that. She probably didn't want to risk the complications of pregnancy...but at twelve? It's got to be-_' his thoughts trailed so far that he didn't even notice when Shauna slipped off to make a phone call.

They had finished segmenting the tubers and Duo dropped the lot into the pot. Metaphorically speaking, "Are you back yet?" he asked his friend.

During the chopping process, Quatre would suddenly pause and stare off into space, silent as a graveyard. He would be granted a few moments alone, in his head, for good measure. When he took too long to snap out of it, Duo took the vegetable the guy was cutting and finished it for him. Quatre didn't even realize it happening. He just assumed it was cut absentmindedly and grabbed another piece to continue on with(only to have the same thing happen again).

Seconds passed with no response. He tried again. "How about now? The vegetables are boiling," he said, hoping to grab his interest.

Mistakenly thinking out loud, "It runs in the family," he said to himself.

"Being a space case? Or being a vegetable?" he teased.

Startled, "No-I...I'm just worried."

"Is this about your sister? Talk to her. Maybe it's nothing." Duo had a feeling this wasn't something he was ready to let go of.

"I can guarantee it isn't," He could feel his heart palpitate even thinking about it. "...I wish I knew more. Do you think Missy still has that file?"

"Doubt it. If she is who she says she is, that file's been returned to the school."

"The school? Wait...how could she have accidentally picked up Shauna's file there? Shauna never enlisted at the school. Hers would have needed to come from somewhere else entirely." Yesterday Heero mentioned the files Missy had, came from the principal herself. There was no other way for her to have gotten them.

"That _is_ weird. And here I was just about to cut her a little slack." Duo shook his head. He decided to come forward with some information. "When we were all here the other night, while you were gone letting Heero in, she told me to do a little acting." Duo explained her tactic and that she was looking for 'stress triggers', mainly pertaining to 'time' and 'order'.

"...and _that_ makes you trust her less?" The entire right side of his face twitched, starting from the nose and radiating out.

'_That's a whole lot of aggression_!' he thought. That facial expression book was a blessing and a curse. He had finished reading it. Before completing the entire thing, he'd have taken Quatre's countenance as annoyance, not rage. "K-kind of," taken aback.

"It shouldn't. That means there's an even better chance she is who she says she is. Who else could get ahold of something like that? And why would they need to? Any money says she had my sister's file to compare the two of us. We're twins, so a lot of the diagnosis I received growing up, she got too...dammit." He wondered, '_Has she trimmed her file, or is it still intact_?' It _was_ that horrible condition that the therapist was looking for. He denied the diagnosis, and would continue to do so.

'_Quatre doesn't swear for no good reason_,' he thought. "Then...did...you have the same procedure, or something?" Maybe Quatre was worried out of experience.

"That would be impossible. It's female specific."

"Right, then...so-"

"Stop asking, please. The procedure has nothing to do with what I'm worried about Missy exposing, I promise."

"Come on, it's eatin' you up. Talk to me." Duo caught himself in the 'therapist' position and cringed a little.

Quatre did need someone to listen. Asking Iria might not have been such a good idea because there was no way of telling who else Shauna was keeping this a secret from. Duo seemed to be the next logical go-to without disrupting the flow any. "Do you know what a hysterectomy is?"

"Not a clue," he said, hoping an explanation would follow.

"It's the removal of the female reproductive organs. As I said, I could never have had that done."

Duo processed the tidbit, "No disrespect, but don't conception difficulties run in your family? Maybe it was cautionary."

"There's a chance it's that, but she had the procedure at age twelve."

"...wouldn't that have messed with puberty," Duo queried.

"Absolutely. Which is why I'm worried it's a little more serious than that. I want to ask her...and I don't think she'll be too upset that I found out...I'm just afraid of what the answer is. Topping my list right now is some form of cancer, followed by cysts and then-" he cringed at the thought of the third possibility, "-physical trauma."

"...you said she had a bunch of medications on the fridge..."

"I didn't read what they were."

"Shoot...they might've given some insight." Duo assumed they were female hormones for replacement therapy.

"That would be too intrusive anyway."

"She may not care. You said they were all out of date _and_ she was ready to let your mistress paw through them. Why not us?"

Quatre turned bright red and ignored that comment, "After you guys left, I convinced her to sort them. They're not up there anymore."

"Hmm...we can figure this out. I'm sure there's some clue lying around here." He stroked his 'invisi-beard' to think as he scanned the kitchen.

"Possibly. Like I said, at the same time, I kind of don't want to know."

"I get ya'. But you're going to find out eventually."

"This is true..." Quatre also looked around for something to go off of. He noticed her _small wicker basket_, the one she kept her _inspiration_ pieces in. "She's obsessed with her exterior...but she doesn't show off her body much, if, at all. I almost walked in on her once and nearly had half the room thrown at me. I recall a comment about 'my body is a temple'...but she _does _tend to be over-dramatic..."

"Temple? She's probably chaste. Lots of people our age are."

"I know...but it was the tone of the speech. It sounded phony. Nervous, even. Like she'd been 'found out'. It was a few days after she got here...so I thought she might have been covering up bruises, and her anger merely being overcompensation to keep me at a distance."

"...well..."

"On top of that, she bailed on her own marriage."

Duo's eyes widened, "Didn't know that. But, okay, I'm going to defend her on this one, seventeen is too young to marry-"

Quatre insisted, "-that depends on your culture. Compared to _your_ customs, where I'm from, it's commonplace to wed at an early age. The majority of times, marriage is lucrative, not romantic. She did mention he offered to pay for everything...maybe that has something to do with it."

"I don't know-maybe-could he have _really_ cared about her in the end and didn't want her to leave. Maybe she has her _own agenda_." He struck his own nerve, recalling he and Hilde in a similar situation.

"Then why'd she leave all of a sudden? They've been dating for years..." He neglected to mention that her ex wanted children, asap.

Seemingly from nowhere, "...when's your garbage pick up?"

"W-what? Monday. Why?"

"Where would she have thrown out the pill bottles?" Duo was going to go into 'sort mode'. Quatre took him to the requested location. Time marched on by, but the pill bottles didn't pop up. "No good. She must not have tossed them out yet...were there any pills left in them?"

"A few."

"Do you remember what they looked like?"

"Not really. I know none of them were capsules, they were all formed pills...I doubt that's useful."

"If I knew colors, shapes and numbers, I could do a search on what kind of pill it was." Suddenly, the driveway revealed Heero and Trowa pulling up in Relena's car. "Were we expecting them so soon?" Duo didn't want to let everybody else in on a potential serious issue between the siblings, so he hopped down off the ledge the bins were placed on. Duo quickly played coy, as if nothing were going on.

"..." Quatre let out an exasperated sigh, "She's also been spending a lot of time with Trowa...maybe he knows a little more."

"Hmm...didn't he have a date at the banquette? I guess with how protective you're being, that's why he didn't bring her."

Quatre chuckled, "That was Catherine, his sister, Duo."

"Pff, yeah, sure," he said with an eye roll. "Her hair was a couple shades lighter, she wore contacts and was about four inches higher than Catherine. Sorry bro, but there was no fooling me, that wasn't his sister. I bet he did that so they could sneak off to his room later. Sly. Very sly." Duo nodded in approval as the car rolled to a stop.

Quatre was unimpressed. "..." A final straw was reached. "That's it," he said quietly and walked off, muttering something about the current situation.

"Hey," Trowa waved with Heero close behind, "Where's Quatre going?"

Duo shrugged, "I don't know. I think he's off to find Shauna...something about you being a 'two-timing son of a bitch."

Trowa, "...!"

Heero, "...?"

"...obviously, he didn't say it like that...but I can damn well tell he _meant_ it," Duo said with a nod. As if nothing was wrong, "...How come you two are off so early?" He decided to pick up wherever he could.

Trowa began, "What? We...left early...to come here..." at least, he tried to. Trowa was a little slow in that moment. It suddenly clicked with him what was happening. "I'll be back," he said and left to find one, or both, of the Winner twins.

"..." Heero looked at Duo. He was washing his hands beneath a tap jutting out from the back of the mansion, whistling something innocent as he did so. "You seem to be in a better mood, despite that sudden outburst," he said. "What's going on?" Heero assumed Duo had checked his pockets by now, so he was _naturally_ calmer.

"Sorry man, I can't say too much about all this...but it seems Quatre thinks Trowa is seeing some girl along side his sister."

"You mean Shauna? I only heard Trowa mention a girl named Alex, but..." This one had been described to him as a 'gypsy girl'. "They aren't long term. Maybe Shauna's sticking around until this other girl is out of the picture."

"Hmm...maybe. Trowa does seem disinterested in her like that...but then again, he's notorious for pulling the wool over people's eyes. Huh...I wonder what we're missing." Duo clapped his hands dry on his thighs. "No matter, we've got a sound system to rig in the right rooms. Just like old times, huh," he said with a devious smile.

He knew Duo was referring to their shenanigans at the school on Monday. Was he trying to create a tangent? "Heh, is there something wrong with the machine?" Heero asked, hopeful karaoke would be called off. However, this might have been the thing to bring his friend's mood around again.

"Yes. It's unable to play in the bathroom."

The prospect of karaoke was obviously too promising to this guy. He had to let him have it. "Alright. Lead the way." He hadn't been informed of the new renovations either. Heero was led to the ground floor where the Turkish bath was installed. Before they entered the room, he had to ask, "Did you check your pocket yet?"

Duo released the latch on the entrance and turned to give an honest explanation, "Listen, I was sick the day I used it, I didn't have any other options, I haven't touched it since, don't worry, it's not a thing I usually go for," very quickly.

"...Duo...check your pocket," he said with his usual dry tone.

He didn't check the joint on the way to Quatre's, because he assumed it was thrown away. "Why do I gotta' check...?" He felt some new things in there.

Heero snickered, "Trowa said you can't roll worth a damn."

Duo laughed at himself and pulled out the two neatly rolled joints. "I didn't roll it, it was-this one's even got a little filter!" he said, all too amused, inspecting it against the light of the day. "And here I was shitting bricks!" He sighed, "Did _you _use any?" His fingers, mentally crossed; his mouth, literally smirking.

"I didn't, though I can't say the same of Trowa. He put the burnt piece from the end into his own cigarette and rolled the rest for you. He said it '_hit him hard_'," Heero mused with a shrug. They continued on into the room with the high ceilings and intricate marble tiled floors.

"So that's why you're here: He's too 'out of it'?"

"I believe so. He commented that there were a lot of _lines_ in the hallways that unnerved him. And since you were in quite the mood when you left, we figured it best we call it a day too. Nothing was going on in class anyway." They were nearing the holidays and the teacher's lesson plans were beginning to run out. Everyone was given free class time near the weekends to effectively space the remaining days. Friday was a prime day to do very little.

"No joke. Where'd he smoke at?"

"The roof. It seemed the stairs coming back down were too difficult for him. That's when he asked to come here."

"Daring," he laughed and pulled out the wire panel from the wall. Leaning back over his shoulder he held the two marijuana cigarettes in between his thumb and index fingers, display them, beaming at the prospect of a 'high Heero'. "Did you want to try any?"

"Maybe. But after we're finished setting this up."

Bonus! "Do you mind if I have some now?"

He shook his head. "Finish working with the electronics first. Smoke when you're done."

"You're no fun."

"You're being impatient."

Duo laughed, "Fine, you're right. Electricity and water's a dangerous combination anyway. Best to be in the _best_ frame of mind when working my magic." He bent his fingers back, cracking them all against one another, and got to work.

* * *

This one took me a while to get my head around...but damn...it makes SO much sense now!

Do you base the characters from the show on parts of yourself? Or other people? Or both?

Either way, it's neat. ^x^

(Off note: ...I made brown sugar-bacon for J and I...and I ended up making the rest of the pack for myself...ow...my teeth. X_x)


	32. Chapter 32: Repeat: Not My Sister

I was going to drag the Shauna thing out a little more, but I think I found a good place to polish it off. I want her to come off as self-absorbed, not a cry baby. It works better for the thing I want to do later anyway. I still have Trowa's ordeal to contend with, but that'll come in time too.

And since no one has been all 'Oh, would you fucking end this thing!', the chapters will march on. Ten seems narrow...I retract my statement of ten, and replace it with 'X'...to be determined at a later date.

I was **not** planning on this length for what it's worth. Originally I was gonna stop around chapter 7. lol...crap just keeps happening. X_x

And honestly, this chapter annoyed me. But it's only annoying because I need to justify stuff that's going on and that'll take me a chapter or two to get finished. So...bare with me, all of this is linking up nicely. ;P

*crosses fingers*

(btw, double meaning for the chapter title, lol)

* * *

******Chapter 32: Repeat: Not My Sister**

* * *

Down the hall and up a floor, Trowa tapped gingerly on the door. Quatre was held up in a pen, and he knew it then, that this must have happened before. The guy had locked himself behind two large framed doors and refused to open up. "I'm serious, Quatre, we're not serious. Isn't me saying so enough?" His words weren't working for him at the moment. He struggled to form proper sentence tense.

"And what about Alex? Does she know how much time you're spending with my sister? Who, might I remind you, is still getting over a breakup!" He spoke sternly from behind the heavy frame.

Why was he yelling? "Her and Alex are friends. Shauna spends time with the both of us."

"Then why isn't Alex coming to the circus with us?" He made a quiet 'grunt' noise.

Trowa couldn't figure out what Quatre was doing. "One, Shauna needed the outing; two, Alex works at the circus, she's always there," he explained and tried to listen harder.

"...you and Shauna seem too close for the week you've know each other...I'm sorry Trowa, but I'm having a hard time swallowing this."

"Do you think I would lie to you?"

"...it's not that..."

Next there was a very liquidy sounding hiss. "Quatre...you need to talk to Shauna. I'm obviously not going to get anywhere." He heard a cough. "You okay?"

"Yup," he said with a short breath.

He _was_ getting worked up! Was he crying now? "Qua~atra...come on, open the door." Nervous, tap tap tap. Trowa was kneeling down now, ear to the door. His body shook and his heart pounded with the chemicals acting on his brain. It dialed the intensity of everything up to eleven. The hall turned upside down and every other direction simultaneously, effectively wrapping him up in an immobile bubble. Each time he shifted on the floor, his body acted on the bindings; gravity had become a thick substance he could feel himself wading through. No wonder he couldn't get his words straight, there was too much happening all at once that he couldn't put to words. It was distracting in every way possible. "She's told you once before," he said, keeping it simple, "Can't you just believe her?"

"...I really can't." A lack of waver in his voice indicated a calm.

"What are you doing in there? What room is this?" he asked and tried to peer though the crevice the door offered. The house had changed around so much, he wasn't sure what was where anymore. "It's like the 'Winchester Mansion' in here. This isn't a garden or the attic, or something?"

"It's the wine cellar."

"I see...wait...Quatre, get out of there. Run."

Eyebrow raised, "Let me talk to Shauna," Quatre said. He was baffled by his friend's approach.

"I don't know where she's at. I can't find anything right now." The direction of 'up', being one of those things. He wasn't going to attempt 'forward', let alone 'stand'.

This was annoying. "What? Go find her. I'm not coming out until I get a straight answer." The sound of glass being tapped. "Think of this as incentive."

He had opened a bottle? "Don't do this," Trowa pleaded. His friend had no idea how much he was asking of him at the moment. "Idea: Let's both go look for her."

"You'll manage."

"Doubtful...this isn't like you."

"And _this_ is like _you_? It isn't like **anybody** to be doing the things they've been doing lately! Why am I the exception?"

'_Telling him I'm like this is probably a bad idea_,' he thought and did his best to stay composed. "Y-you're not. I don't know what Shauna's said since she's moved back, if anything, but she _does_ want you to know what's going on in her life. She's worried you'll judge her harshly...I really can't say anymore. Please Quatre-" another cough, "-and stop drinking whatever it is you're drinking. Open up." At least he figured out what all the other sounds were: Quatre was opening a difficult bottle.

"I've tried being reasonable, I'm done. Not until I hear from her." Little did he know, the shot of sherry had taken a tole on his lip, not just his taste buds. Another cough, and said with a cringe, "And why would I think less of my own sister? Did she flee the country for some reason?"

"No."

"Then she's not a wanted criminal?"

"No."

"Has she stolen or broken anything of mine?"

"What? Of course not."

"Then what is it?"

"I can't say."

"Then I can't open the door," he said and laid his back against it with an obvious thud and another obvious 'airy' sip.

"...she is rubbing off on you. Fine...I'll try to find her." And with that, he got up to begin the hunt as best his wobbly legs could carry him. He didn't know if Quatre was actually drinking, or if it was just a bluff to get his answers. Whatever it was, 'peeling him off the floor' needed to be avoided at all costs, he had a party to host later on that evening.

On the way down the wavering hall, Trowa rehearsed the line for a flawless, quick delivery. Leaning into Shauna's room he noticed her changing, and that set him back a few seconds while he paused to admire. He turned away moments before she noticed. "You've got to come get Quatre. He's locked himself in the wine cellar." He paused to ponder. "...never thought I'd have to say that."

She pulled the tank top down to her hips. "_Has he now_?" Shauna said with delighted shock and began walking with Trowa. "Where's your pep talk to pull him out of this?" she joked.

"I'm too _inspired_ to come up with anything."

She laughed, surprised yet again. "How did you come across that? Dipping into my stash, were we?" Her _stash_ sat quaintly in a wicker box, hidden out in the open in the downstairs kitchen.

"No, I pinched a bit off a friend. But seriously, Quatre's mad."

"Mad? I thought he might be all nervous for the party-ooh, he didn't see the singe mark from the last time I fired up the barbecue? I knew I should have painted it again-"

"-it's about us again."

"Are you kidding...where is he," she said and picked up the pace. She laid three heavy fists on the door that held her brother fast. "This has got to stop. I'm allowed to see whoever I want!"

Not missing a beat, "You aren't rebounding off of one of my friends! I'm not risking that level of awkwardness." He gave irrational reasons to totally avoid the biggest trigger for his distress; the worry of his sister handling betrayal badly was a big factor now too.

She finally came clean, eyes squinted hard, "I'm not on the rebound. Omar and I have been separated for over a year now." The guise was up. And she had worked so hard to maintain it too.

Abort. "...all that means is that I understand the situation even less now. Great." He sounded drained.

"...Trowa," she said quietly, her brow knit with concern, "I have to tell him. I don't think I can get around it..."

"..." He looked nervous and broke the eye contact they shared.

"...you can't keep doing this either...come on...we should..."

"..." He shook his head to signal 'no, don't say a word' but said, "Go ahead. I guess now's a good a time as any..."

Quatre had shifted to hear the low talking. "You're being sneaky. I can hear it."

"There's no sneaking, this is tough stuff to talk about..." she said.

The door was quiet, then, "...go on."

Deep breath. "Okay...I was unfaithful with Omar a while back. I was too guilty about it and that's why I came here like I did. I knew he couldn't handle hearing about it...and I never could bring myself to tell him. He tried to win me back by offering to pay for the wedding. Kind of, his way of showing how dedicated he was to our union..." A gesture that really warmed her heart, one that was far from 'gauche'; saying it was so, was part of the guise. "We've made peace, he still contacts me from time to time. There's no worry about a scorned lover or anything...um..."

"...okay, go on..."

"Quatre, I've been around the world a hundred times. I've seen so many people marry for love...I wanted that too. I still care about Omar, but not in a way that makes me want to spend the rest of my life with him."

"I understand that," he said with a calmer tone, "How long was all this going on for?" He assumed the length of time she had been adulterous was cause for the stigma and secrecy.

"There was only one incident: I slept with Zaahira. But that was enough for me to realize what I really wanted in life. I want to find someone for _me_."

"...Zaahira? Where have I heard that name before?"

"You met her once, at a dinner in Singapore."

'_Her? It's a girl_?' Was that her big secret, that she was with another girl? He paused and remembered the family reunion in question. "...wait a sec. Isn't she-"

"Omar's sister? Yup," she said with a cringe.

They couldn't see it, but Quatre's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Well then...I can see why you kept it from him." He had to process all that info rather quickly. "You're gay then? That's not a big deal. As far as I know, so are five of our other sisters. Now it's up to six. I'm glad it's back to an even number," he said with a chuckle. Those angry sips were catching up to his tongue and turning into playful nips. It wasn't a bluff after all.

She nodded, "That's not all. In fact, that's the easiest part..." Trowa rubbed her back. "On the weekends, Trowa takes me around town to give me a feel for the scene. We're fake-dating so people won't hit on me. I don't want to be in a relationship right now, for your information. So chill, kay?"

"Ha! I know this! That's called a 'beard'. So, he's your beard? That's fine too," Quatre said with a laugh. Things were coming together.

She nodded with a rueful laugh, "Ha-ha-ha, yeah, and Alex is his, ha-ha-heh."

"..." The laughter stopped. "...come again?"

Trowa said nothing, he only made a head gesture.

Shauna gave Quatre some 'described video', "He's nodding. Him and Alex go out all the time, so they started bringing me. They're getting me used to 'my people', so to speak."

Quatre had rose to his knees and was facing the crack of the door to speak. He was going to open it to talk, but assumed the lack of eye contact was best in that moment. "Trowa, I don't care if you're gay either. Honest," the laughter returned as a chuckle.

"I figured _you_ wouldn't," he said, "...I don't know if everyone will feel the same way." He recalled Duo's feelings toward the 'yaoi'(gay) comic he starred in Wednesday past. It wasn't a very 'pleased' reaction. He wasn't risking even one of them being slightly homophobic, it would throw off their whole group's 'dynamic'.

"Come on now. Heero won't care, neither will Duo and Wufei is indifferent to pretty much everything that doesn't damage his motorcycle. What's got you so worried?"

He sighed. "...a couple years ago Heero self destructed in Wing Zero. Do you remember? He was in a coma for months. I took care of him in that time. I'm worried...he'll think...I was inappropriate with him. I wasn't, I would never...I just...I don't know of any way to prove that fact...and he's got no reason to believe me." Trowa did have a nasty track record for fibbing(he prided himself on it).

"You've never lied to us before. He's got no reason to distrust you now."

"Then why didn't you trust me when I said nothing was going on?"

He was right. Quatre did jump to conclusions. "I'm sorry Trowa. I suppose I can see why you're worried. Please don't think you have to come forward about anything right now. One step at a time. I'll keep quiet until you're ready...hey," he paused, "What about Alex? You're wearing two beards," he said with wine in full swing. "You're a pretend hussy then?"

This got them to laugh again. Trowa ran a relieved hand through the short side of his hair. "We only did that to keep up appearances around work; Shauna was for here at home. But I wasn't anticipating you being so protective of your kin. Alex is moving on soon enough, so Shauna was intending to take her place full time." Circus life didn't lend itself well to long term relationships, even phony ones. "This means a lot to me," Trowa kept his emotions in check, "Thank you...so...are you going to open the door now?"

"Nice try, I'm not done yet...but I'm close, like, ninety-nine point nine-nine percent ready." he spoke with his hand still on the lock.

"What else does Master Quatre wish?" Shauna snarked at him.

In their native language, "_You had an operation about six years ago...why_?" He figured that was enough to get it past Trowa.

"..._six years..._what could..." she said and counted the age she would have been on her fingers. Shauna raised an eyebrow. "The hysterectomy? How did you find out?" she said in a tongue everyone could understand.

Having her talk so openly about it made him feel hopeful. "Missy mistook your file for mine because of the similarities in our initials. I looked at it by accident."

"Not quite. We talked Tuesday when she was here; I _asked_ her to take it to you...I was kind of hoping you would put the pieces together on your own...but..."

"Pieces? Did you...have a test for 'homosexuality' done, or something? I never knew such a thing existed. Did they get you to pick out drapes or carpet?"

Again, laughter, "No, you nut...it's because of the other elective procedures I had done. That and my medications I took for a while. I can't drink alcohol during hormone therapy, so I stopped taking them when I got here. Let's face it, I wanted to have a little fun. I had only just started therapy, so coming off wasn't a huge difference. I left some old ones on the fridge, hoping you'd stumble on them. Buuuut, I guess you didn't know what they were...and you didn't think to look them up if you did snoop...I should say thank you for respecting my privacy."

"Elective? Meaning, you didn't have to have it done?" The clink of a bottle being laid on the marble floor.

"Here," Shauna said and slipped a paper beneath the door. "It's a receipt with the prescriptions I had filled last time I took them. The drinking is going to stop when I start up again. I promise." The note vanished. "And that's after the holidays...no way I'm missing out on rum and eggnog."

"...these are the hormones?"

"Yes," she said and held her breath.

"You lack the vital organs to produce the hormone-" there was a break, "Hold the phone...these are male hormones."

_Ten year old Shauna poked at her brother's head. He was so sick he couldn't defend himself. She took liberties saying, "Poke, poke, poke. Come on, we all know you're faking it. You just don't want to go to auntie's reception," she said and was shoved backward. Her brother reached for the bucket at the head of the bed. She rolled her eyes, "Okay, fine, you ate bad food on purpose so you'd be sick."_

"_I want to go," retch, "I really want to go," retch, "I'm getting a bursary from her. If I don't go, I'll miss out." Pause. Retch._

"_All about the money, huh? Yeah, I can't blame you," she said and thought about all the cousins she wouldn't want to deal with either. "What are you going to do?"_

"_I don't know. I'm not going to be well enough to go for another couple days at least." A bad cut of fish had bitten him in the behind(upper digestive tract, to be more specific) and rendered him poisoned._

_Shauna poked his forehead gently, "I know! Auntie is blind as a bat and deaf as a post, I could dress up in your clothes and pretend to be you to get it from her."_

"_Like that's going to work. Dad will notice," he said._

"_I'll make sure he knows; he's as fond of Bertha as you are. I'm sure he won't mind a little deception on your behalf. Besides, we know you're not faking it now," she nudged the slowly filling bucket._

_Embarrassed, h__e pulled it closer_. "...this isn't going to go over well. Whatever," he stuck his head in the bucket again, "Do what you want."

_What he didn't see was his sister rubbing her hands together with an evil smirk. "When **don't** I do that?" She left with a chuckle._

_When that wave of heaving was over, his eyes went into a blank stare, "What have I done?"_

Shauna laughed. "I was going to get you in so much trouble too!"

"I'm shocked you didn't."

"I needed to wait until I had the money before I began my tirade of evil. But I found out something that kind of hit me hard...and I was sorta' bummed for the rest of the visit."

_Auntie Bertha planted a red lipsticked kiss on the side of the fake Quatre's head. "Marvellous!" The middle-aged woman complimented her 'nephew' on a feat of accuracy with a firearm and an airborne teacup. "That was over seventy feet away! He's a sharp shooter. No wonder you're such a proud father."_

_Shauna's father was a nervous wreck the whole time, paranoid his daughter's incognito would be exposed by the in-law. He managed to keep the guise going. "All of my children put out their best effort. It truly shows," he gave his 'son' a pat on the head of approval._

_The older woman nodded again, "You'll make a wonderful heir to the Winner fortune some day. Oooh, I just know it," she said with a boisterous laugh._

"_Maybe," said fake Quatre, "I'm sure any one of my sisters are better equipped for the task." She and he were the youngest of so many others, she accepted the fact that her chance on the throne was minimal; Iria seemed like the next logical go-to in her mind._

"_Oh don't be so foolish. You'll have plenty of time to study. You take priority in the family, it'll be you who gets to carry on the name," she wagged a finger at him, a sly look in her eyes, "don't act like you forget."_

"And I neeeever did forget. How could I? You were next in line...at the back of the line. It...I...my entitlement didn't matter because _you_ were a boy. You, before all of us, were entitled to anything and everything our family had to offer. Regardless if any of us were better at you in school, with a rifle or even in the social hierarchy...it all went to you..."

"Is that why you're going through with this change? Because I don't know if it'll affect-"

"-not quite," she stopped him. "I'll admit you _were_ the biggest influence, but there were a lot of other things in my life that happened since then that made me want to go through with it. In fact, going through with therapy only happened within the last two years. I never wanted you to know because I knew there was nothing you could do about it either...I didn't want you to think I ever resented you for it...though...I think I might have for a while. I'm sorry for that."

"Don't be. I shouldn't have dragged all this out of you; I'm sorry."

Shauna laughed warmly, "Fine, then, we both are. Think of it more as an explanation as to why I broke your nose afterward."

"What?"

"Don't tell me you forgot."

"How could I!?" He assumed it was a childhood fight that caused it, nothing more. Apparently, it had intent.

"As soon as you were better, I said to myself, I would pop you in the nose. It was because of a conversation I heard you and Dad over the phone when we were flying back home that time. Do you know what one I'm talking about?"

"We were talking about the inheritance. Is that why you were so mad?" His sister definitely didn't misconstrue the conversation he and his father had. With only half of the conversation to go by, it revealed that Quatre wanted no part in the family business.

"Yup! And I teased you that it would grow in crooked, like Dad's. I felt I was knocking sense into you."

"It didn't end up working," he said with a gentle laugh, "I haven't faltered in my opinion. Paperwork isn't my place. It _can_ be all yours if you want. When I take over, I can immediately sign everything over to you." He was serious, tapping a single finger against the door in anticipation, "This is an opportunity."

She laughed, "Nice try, I've got other plans now." She was serious too.

"Damn."

"If you want, every now and then...I could fill in for you. Sort of, to give you a break," she said and heard a click. _She was glad she didn't have to tell him how she convinced her family to let her go through with the procedure._ He seemed content in what she had told him.

The door swung open to reveal that Quatre wasn't there. "Sounds plausible," he said, "But if you don't have any plans _now_, kindly, help me up." When he opened the door and pulled the handle to lift himself up, his legs did no such thing. Instead, the heavy door carried his weight well. It ended up opening fully with Quatre still hanging on. He slid with it. It was fun. Deciding to cut the drink out for a while, he managed to walk on his own to burn some of it off. "I wonder if Duo remembered to'do'up the stereo thing in the bathroom," he thought out loud. At least he was on topic this time.

* * *

Seriously! I was going to finish with the Peacecraft banquette, do the hangover chapter and then have Heero and Relena resolve everything and it all wrapped up nicely...yes...back then...lol

And yes, I rhymed the first paragraph on purpose...didn't notice? Try reading it again. *hasbonerfordrsusse* ^^

Okay! I haven't talked to you guys about the psychology behind the story in a while. So...on the next update, we will. I'll actually to a little recap on how each of the characters are doing. We've been here a while, I'm sure there's things you've forgotten.

It will be glorious! XD


End file.
